“He was the great scholar of the Depression who saw another depression coming, and did everything he could to stop it,” Stengel said of Bernanke.
Compare that to what he was saying in May 2007.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that he didn’t believe the growing number of mortgage defaults would seriously harm the economy, and also noted that banks share significant risks when financing private equity deals.
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Bernanke said while it was likely that there would be further increases in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures this year and in 2008, he did not believe this problem would be enough to derail the overall economy.
“We believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will be limited and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system,” Bernanke said in his remarks, copies of which were distributed in Washington.
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He said that past gains in home prices have left most homeowners with significant amounts of equity in their houses and the growth in jobs and incomes should allow most households to keep their financial obligations in a manageable range.
