次贷危机为什么叫次贷？

次贷危机发生于2008年，是指由美国次级抵押贷款市场崩溃引起的全球金融危机。那么，为什么这场金融危机被称为“次贷危机”呢？这个名称的由来与次级抵押贷款市场有着密切的关系。

在次贷危机之前，美国银行业追求高回报率，利用次级抵押贷款市场创造利润。次级抵押贷款是指那些信用风险较高的借贷人所承担的贷款。这些借贷人往往信用记录不佳，收入不稳定，或者无法提供足够的担保品。由于这些原因，借款人申请的贷款被认为是次级的，银行为了减少自身风险，通常会对这类贷款收取更高的利息。

然而，随着时间的推移，次级抵押贷款市场逐渐扩大，更多的机构和投资者开始参与其中。为了满足市场的需求，一些金融机构放宽了对借贷人的审查标准，将更多信用风险较高的贷款纳入次级抵押贷款市场。这种行为导致了市场上次级抵押贷款的数量激增。

然而，这些次级抵押贷款迅速变得不可持续，因为大量借贷人无法偿还贷款，导致房价下跌和房屋抵押品的价值下降。这进一步引发了次级抵押贷款市场的崩溃，金融机构无法收回贷款本金，导致银行出现资本短缺和流动性问题。最终，这一危机波及全球金融市场，引发了全球性的金融危机。

因为次贷危机是由次级抵押贷款市场的崩溃引起的，所以这场危机被称为“次贷危机”。这个名字恰如其分地体现了次级抵押贷款在金融危机中的核心作用。

Why is it called the subprime crisis?

The subprime crisis occurred in 2008 and refers to the global financial crisis caused by the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market. So, why is this financial crisis called the "subprime crisis"? The origin of this name is closely related to the subprime mortgage market.

Before the subprime crisis, the US banking industry pursued high returns by using the subprime mortgage market to generate profits. Subprime mortgages refer to loans taken on by borrowers with higher credit risks. These borrowers often have poor credit records, unstable incomes, or are unable to provide sufficient collateral. Due to these reasons, the loans applied by these borrowers are considered subprime, and banks usually charge higher interest rates to offset their risks.

However, over time, the subprime mortgage market expanded, and more institutions and investors began to participate. To meet the market demand, some financial institutions relaxed their scrutiny standards for borrowers and incorporated more high credit risk loans into the subprime mortgage market. This behavior led to a rapid increase in the quantity of subprime mortgages in the market.

However, these subprime mortgages quickly became unsustainable as a large number of borrowers were unable to repay their loans, leading to a decline in home prices and a decrease in the value of the mortgaged properties. This further triggered the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, causing financial institutions to be unable to recover the loan principal, resulting in capital shortages and liquidity issues for banks. Eventually, this crisis spread to global financial markets, triggering a global financial crisis.

Because the subprime crisis was caused by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, it is called the "subprime crisis". This name aptly reflects the central role played by subprime mortgages in the financial crisis.