ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) - U.S. banking regulator Sheila Bair said on Monday that a low interest rate policy is "clearly appropriate" to get credit flowing, while also saying regulators should stop short of ordering banks to lend. Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, has expressed frustration that creditworthy ...

FDIC head makes pitch again for new consumer protection agencyThe head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. pitched again Monday for a new agency for consumer financial protection, now a key sticking point in Senate talks in legislation to overhaul the finance system. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said a new ...

Banks earn $914 million in fourth quarter, but number of problem banks jumps above 700The number of U.S. banks considered troubled jumped to more than 700 last quarter even as the industry squeezed out a small profit in a recovering economy. And bank lending last year posted the steepest ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of "problem" U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry's recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said the industry overall eked out ...