Bernanke: Fix Banks First

Stabilizing the financial system is of the utmost priority in order to incite recovery, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently told the Senate Banking Committee. “If we don’t stabilize the financial system, we’re going to flounder for some time,” he added. Bernanke expressed support for the Obama administration’s approach to reviving banks during its first month in office. Of the Obama plan, Bernanke said that “if it is well executed and forcefully executed, it is our best hope of stabilizing the system,” but he cautioned that it will take more time and money to come to fruition—at best, it will be two or three more years before the country makes a full recovery. And until it does, volatility in the foreign currency trading market will surely remain high, and price movements will remain unpredictable.