The term "shadow bank" was coined in 2007 to describe risky off-balance-sheet vehicles hatched by banks to sell loans repackaged as bonds. Today, the term is used more loosely to cover all financial intermediaries that perform the bank-like activity but are not regulated as one. These include mobile payment systems, pawnshops, peer-to-peer lending websites, hedge funds and bond-trading platforms set up by technology firms. Among the biggest are asset management companies. In 2013 investment funds make such loans raised a whopping $97 billion worldwide. The Financial Stability Board, an international watchdog estimates that globally, the informal lending sector serviced assets worth $80 trillion in 2014 up from $26 trillion more than a decade earlier. Shadow banks have flourished in part because the traditional ones, battered by losses incurred during the financial slump, are under pressure. Tighter capital requirements and fear of heavy penalties have kept them grounded. In China, where banks are discouraged from lending to certain industries and are mandated to offer frustratingly low-interest rates on deposits, non-banks fill the gap. About two-thirds of all lending in the country by shadow banks are in fact 'bank loans in disguise'. Critics worry that unlike banks, which lend against deposits from customers, nonbanks loan money using investor's cash and rotating lines of credit. This is especially risky when skittish investors who bet on short term gains withdraw their money at once. But non-bank financing need not always be a bad thing. It offers an additional source of credit to individuals and businesses in countries where formal banking is either expensive or absent. It also takes some burden off banks which have big 'maturity mismatches' (the difference between the amount of time a depositor's money is parked in the bank minus the time that it is loaned out). And belatedly, regulators, too, are waking up to the new financial order of shadow banking. Banks must now declare structured investment vehicles on their balance sheets. Authorities are imposing leverage limits on various forms of shadow banks in America and Europe. It is a small start to rein in an industry that accounts for a quarter of the global financial system.

Which of the following aptly describes the tone of the passage?

Question

The term "shadow bank" was coined in 2007 to describe risky off-balance-sheet vehicles hatched by banks to sell loans repackaged as bonds. Today, the term is used more loosely to cover all financial intermediaries that perform the bank-like activity but are not regulated as one. These include mobile payment systems, pawnshops, peer-to-peer lending websites, hedge funds and bond-trading platforms set up by technology firms. Among the biggest are asset management companies. In 2013 investment funds make such loans raised a whopping $97 billion worldwide. The Financial Stability Board, an international watchdog estimates that globally, the informal lending sector serviced assets worth $80 trillion in 2014 up from $26 trillion more than a decade earlier. Shadow banks have flourished in part because the traditional ones, battered by losses incurred during the financial slump, are under pressure. Tighter capital requirements and fear of heavy penalties have kept them grounded. In China, where banks are discouraged from lending to certain industries and are mandated to offer frustratingly low-interest rates on deposits, non-banks fill the gap. About two-thirds of all lending in the country by shadow banks are in fact 'bank loans in disguise'. Critics worry that unlike banks, which lend against deposits from customers, nonbanks loan money using investor's cash and rotating lines of credit. This is especially risky when skittish investors who bet on short term gains withdraw their money at once. But non-bank financing need not always be a bad thing. It offers an additional source of credit to individuals and businesses in countries where formal banking is either expensive or absent. It also takes some burden off banks which have big 'maturity mismatches' (the difference between the amount of time a depositor's money is parked in the bank minus the time that it is loaned out). And belatedly, regulators, too, are waking up to the new financial order of shadow banking. Banks must now declare structured investment vehicles on their balance sheets. Authorities are imposing leverage limits on various forms of shadow banks in America and Europe. It is a small start to rein in an industry that accounts for a quarter of the global financial system.

Which of the following aptly describes the tone of the passage?

Accepted Answer

**Solution:**

1. The passage provides an informative and balanced overview of shadow banking, explaining its origin, growth, risks, and regulatory responses.

2. The tone is neutral and analytical rather than emotional or judgmental. It neither flatters nor criticizes excessively.

3. The options:
   - *Obsequious* means excessively flattering or servile, which is not the case here.
   - *Reckless* implies careless or rash behavior, which does not describe the tone of the passage.
   - *Poignant* means evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret, which is not evident.
   - *Acrimonious* means bitter or angry, which the passage is not.

4. The passage is factual, balanced, and explanatory, so "None of these" is the correct choice.

**Answer:** None of these

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