Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says regulators must do all they can to help banks make loans to creditworthy borrowers, especially small businesses. That's key to strengthening the economic recovery.
It's a delicate dance for the Fed and other banking regulators. As regulators encourage banks to make loans to sound borrowers, they are also working to make sure banks get back on firmer footing after suffering through the recession.
Bernanke says in prepared remarks to a conference on banking in Chicago that institutions should strive to meet the needs of creditworthy borrowers, and the supervisory agencies should do all they can to help, not hinder, those efforts."
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