Fed Chairman urges officials for 'careful' consideration regarding small business credit

Perhaps reflecting the exhaustion of stimulus and interest measures employed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed the need for policy makers to ease the environment for the country's small businesses. Particularly, Bernanke stressed the need for officials to carefully address the credit market in its relation to small firms, which are responsible for roughly two-thirds of all new jobs, according to the Small Business Administration. "Small businesses have played an important role in fueling past economic recoveries," the Associated Press quotes Bernanke as saying at a Fed conference on Wednesday. "We need to think carefully about how, in the current economic environment, our nation can best provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with the support they need to expand job opportunities." Large banks and lending institutions have strapped their credit policies in recent years in response to heightened risk and reduced assets. Despite the dearth of substantial credit decisions, many analysts have argued that firms are suffering more from a lack of sales, as opposed to credit availability.