Yellen Plays Down Banking Woes, Sees No Sign of Credit Crunch

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shrugged off recent banking spasms to declare the economy better off than six months ago, saying she didn’t believe the banking turmoil had restricted the availability of credit in the US.

“I’ve not really seen evidence at this stage suggesting a contraction in credit, although that is a possibility,” Yellen said Tuesday during a press conference in Washington. “The US economy is obviously performing exceptionally well with continued solid job creation, inflation gradually moving down and robust consumer spending. So I’m not anticipating a downturn in the economy, although of course that remains a risk.” ...