Bernanke repeats recovery is 'frustratingly slow' (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday said again that the pace of the economic recovery has been "frustratingly slow." In a video-taped speech to the Independent Community Bankers of America convention, Bernanke said that "the condition of community banks is improving" despite economic uncertainties. "Profits of smaller banks were considerably higher in 2011 than in the previous year, nonperforming assets were lower, provisions for loan losses fell appreciably, and capital ratios improved," Bernanke said. The Fed is trying to listen and understand small banks' concerns about regulation, Bernanke said. The Fed chairman did not comment on the Fed's decision Tuesday to hold monetary policy steady. While strains in global financial markets have eased, they still pose "significant downside risks to the economic outlook," the Fed said in its post-meeting statement. The Fed said that rising oil prices would increase inflation but only temporarily.