Fed's Pianalto : Foreclosures Have Become A National Crisis
02/10/2012 | 01:16pm
By Cynthia Lin
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Foreclosures in the housing market have become a national crisis, a regional Federal Reserve president said Friday, noting however that the drop in property value in her particular region is more deeply rooted.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto spoke before a housing services audience in Cleveland, encouraging the community to work together in improving the appeal of living in older, more industrial cities.
These older cities have suffered housing foreclosures like the rest of the nation, but Pianalto says the high vacancy and abandonment rates are the more troubling issues.
"Our challenges with vacant and abandoned housing are immediate, but they are the result of forces that have been at work long before the recent financial crisis and recession," she said.
The official, who recently rotated into a voting slot on the Fed's policy-making committee, made no mention of her outlook on the broader U.S. economy nor her position on the current monetary policy.
In early January, she reiterated her expectation for a "moderate" economic recovery, maintaining her forecast for U.S. gross domestic product to grow by 2.5% this year and 3% in 2013. She also said she was "confident" the central bank was making the most of its policy tools.
-By Cynthia Lin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4403; cynthia.lin@dowjones.com
