Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said Europe’s debt crisis has done more to lower U.S. interest rates than the maturity-extension program initiated by the Fed.

“We are the beneficiary” of Europe’s problems because the region’s crisis makes the U.S. look “relatively handsome,” Fisher said in response to a question from the audience in San Antonio Wednesday. “That’s one of the reasons interest rates are so low.”

The Fed announced in September it would replace $400 billion of short-term debt with longer-term securities, a program intended to lower borrowing costs and in turn support the recovery. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes dropped to a record low today as investors grew concerned over the deepening crisis in Europe.