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U.S. banks ready for higher interest rates: Greenspan By Rex Nutting

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. financial system is"strong and well positioned" to meet the challenges of higher interest rates, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday. In testimony at the Senate Banking Committee, Greenspan said U.S. banks weathered the shocks of the past three years quite well, posting"high and often record quarterly earnings." Banks have adapted their portfolio of assets and their business plans to benefit from higher rates, he said. Greenspan made no comments on the strength of the U.S. economy as a whole or on monetary policy. Greenspan will testify at the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday on the economic outlook.

<ul> ~ Greenspan: U.S. banks ready for higher interest rates</ul>

-->und hier wird von morgens bis abends behauptet, der grosse Crash wartet schon hinter der nächsten Kurve:

For the full year 2003, commercial banks reported net profits of more than $100 billion while maintaining historically high equity and risk-based capital ratios and enjoying brisk asset growth. Although the demand for business loans and the underwriting of equity securities have been weak over the past few years, banking organizations have continued to benefit from strong demand for household credit, not least for residential mortgage products as interest rates declined substantially.

Moreover, the volume of problem assets in commercial banks declined each quarter last year, including a drop in the fourth quarter of nearly 10 percent, which brought the ratio of problem assets to total loans and foreclosed assets to less than 1 percent--its lowest level since year-end 2000.

-->GREENSPAN: PRODUCTIVITY TO CONTAIN INFLATION PRESSURES

3:21pm 04/20/04 GREENSPAN: HARD TO FORECAST IN CONDITIONS LIKE THIS


3:19pm 04/20/04 GREENSPAN: THREATS OF DEFLATION ARE NO LONGER AN ISSUE

3:17pm 04/20/04 GREENSPAN SAYS U.S. ECONOMY WILL CREATE JOBS

3:18pm 04/20/04 GREENSPAN: THINGS HAVE PICKED BACK UP IN ECONOMY