We are sensitive to this issue, which is why last November the agencies jointly issued the "Interagency Statement on Meeting the Needs of Creditworthy Borrowers." 2 In that statement, we noted that continuing to lend in this environment is not inconsistent with maintaining good risk management and high underwriting standards.
For example, we emphasized that, while rectifying past shortcomings in underwriting standards and other aspects of risk management, banks can and should continue to provide loans to creditworthy customers.