If asset-price bubbles develop, balance sheets may look sound individually, but the entire network of interlinked asset-liability structures will become increasingly dependent on overvalued collateral, and thus vulnerable to financial contagion. The unraveling of such a network – through panic and runs against financial institutions, asset fire sales, credit crunches, and the like – then becomes a nightmare for financial supervisors and monetary authorities alike.
倘若资产价格泡沫继续扩大，单一企业的资产负债表或许看上去还比较完美，但整个连环资产-债务网络将逐渐依赖于估值过高的附属担保品，并因此容易受到金融腐败的影响。而这个网络的破碎和肢解——通过对金融机构的恐慌和敌意，低价甩卖资产，信贷紧缩等——将成为对金融监管这和货币主管部门的噩梦。