Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said banks need to start lending again to help grow the economy. Bair said that while the banking sector has seen profits increase for four consecutive quarters, lending has shrunk for the 10th quarter in a row, slipping 0.2% to $7.38 trillion in the fourth quarter. She also noted that the volume of loans on banks’ books that are 90 or more days delinquent has fallen for the third consecutive quarter.
