LAWRENCE, KANSAS (AP) -- The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says the U.S. needs better lending standards to avoid a recurrence of the 2008 financial crisis.
FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair spoke Monday to an audience at the University of Kansas' Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
Bair said she would like banks to require more evidence that a borrower is ready for homeownership and can repay the debt. Loans should be made only if borrowers have a portion of their own money at risk, too.
She also defended financial reforms under consideration in Congress, saying they're a start toward restoring the U.S. banking system's values. That legislation intends to address weaknesses in the financial system that led to the crisis.
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