Quotes from Ben S. Bernanke

But his analytical skills, particularly his ability to detect weaknesses in an argument, would make everyone around him better and lead to better policy.

would ask me what state I was the governor of.

I put great trust in Scott's advice.

I was less sure of how well Dan, a lawyer among economists, would fit into the FOMC,

Yet I was feeling far from overworked.

by making it costly for them to refinance.

concerned about the politics and whether Congress would go along, the Bush administration had not yet made the request.

As we emphasized at the time, we took those actions not out of any consideration for their shareholders,

that a program of this size and importance should be undertaken with FOMC approval,

Hank would be free to pursue his passions

For much of the panic, the Fed alone, with its chewing gum and baling wire, bore the burden of battling the crisis.

The only way to contain the economic damage of a financial fire is to put it out, even though it's almost impossible to do that without helping some of the people who caused it.

Why the support for subprime lending?

I saw exhaustion in everyone's face.

Even as the financial panic subsided in 2009, the damage done by the crisis became increasingly apparent.

its effectiveness greatly diminished after loan recipients were identified.

and employees at all levels were prepared to work as many hours as needed.

A quarter of homeowners would owe more on their mortgages than their homes were worth.

My gratitude was heartfelt. Our response to the crisis had been a team effort. But

In that respect, it seemed to me, the Federal Reserve was behind the times.

Beyond the concerns about inhibiting

and they took pride in their professionalism and expertise.

but I was aware of the "case-by-case" approach and did not object.

They believed that, given the significance of the decision, I should not have announced the program before the FOMC formally voted.