Ben S Bernanke: Community development in challenging times Speech by Mr Ben S Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the Federal Reserve Community Affairs Research Conference, Arlington, Virginia, 29 April 2011. The original speech, which contains various links to the documents mentioned, can be found on the US Federal Reserve System’s website.
*  *  *  As always, I’m pleased to join you at the Federal Reserve’s biennial Community Affairs Research Conference. This meeting brings together researchers, community development professionals, and public-sector officials to explore how best to strengthen struggling communities. Needless to say, that endeavor is more crucial than ever. The past few years have been very difficult.