ben s bernanke : brief remarks speech by mr ben s bernanke, chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the united states - mexico chamber of commerce annual gala, washington dc, 12 may 2011. * * * good evening. i am very pleased to join the united states - mexico chamber of commerce at this gala dinner as its members look back on another year of working to build the mutually beneficial trade and investment relationship between our two countries. the ties between mexico and the united states, both economic and cultural, are close and enduring – in no small part, i am sure, because of the nearly 40 years of effort by the chamber. thus, i am especially honored to join agustin carstens, the distinguished governor of the bank of mexico, in receiving your good neighbor award. thank you very much. muchisimas gracias. i have benefited from many years of contact and shared experiences with agustin and his colleagues at the central bank of mexico. some years ago, i had the opportunity to visit the bank of mexico. as an economist, i found the visit very stimulating. but i must confess that i enjoyed the trip as much for the cultural excursions as for the economics. i remember in particular the beauty of diego rivera ’ s monumental mural in the national palace in mexico city. as with so many things, i credit my wife, anna, who has a graduate degree in latin american literature, for my greater - than - average appreciation for the arts of mexico and the other latin american nations. perhaps agustin might also credit his spouse, the writer catherine mansell carstens, for an appreciation of culture that encompasses both of our nations. i met agustin not long after i came to washington to serve on the federal reserve board. he was then a highly regarded deputy managing director of the international monetary fund. in late 2006, not long after i became chairman, he became finance minister of mexico, and last year he succeeded guillermo ortiz as governor of the bank of mexico. we have had many opportunities to meet and share views about the u. s., mexican, and global economies. my appreciation for his wisdom and insight as an economist and policymaker has grown with each encounter. our productive and, i hope, mutually beneficial relationship reflects the close relationship of the united states and mexico. our countries are tightly linked through trade. the united states is by far mexico ’ s largest trading partner, accounting for about two - thirds of total mexican merchandise trade.

feasible and prudent, as an alternative to foreclosure. in some cases, temporary adjustments to payments may not be sufficient, and more - permanent reductions in interest rates or an extension of the loan term may be required to help a borrower. in some situations, lenders and servicers may want to consider using principal writedowns as a way to reduce re - default risk or to facilitate a refinancing. the federal reserve's outreach efforts inform its policymaking. we recently hosted focus groups to evaluate regulatory proposals on credit disclosures and held a series of informative hearings on the home ownership and equity protection act ( hoepa ) regulations. the board then issued a regulatory proposal under hoepa that called for stricter regulations to prohibit unfair and deceptive practices in the mortgage market. by targeting protections to borrowers who face the most risk of experiencing unfair or deceptive practices, the proposal seeks to protect consumers and preserve consumer choice in mortgage products. we have also sought to provide lenders with clear standards that, without being overly prescriptive, preserve access to responsible credit for qualified borrowers. the proposal covers the entire subprime market, not just lenders supervised by the federal banking agencies, and focuses attention on the areas of greatest risk – while preserving consumers'access to responsible credit. the proposal addresses the extension of credit without consideration of a borrower's liz laderman ( march 2008 ), " the efficacy of mortgage loan workouts, " unpublished, federal reserve bank of san francisco. ability to repay, verification of income and assets relied upon to make a loan, prepayment penalties, and escrow accounts for taxes and insurance. the comment period ended on april 8, and we are currently reviewing the more than 4, 000 comment letters received. legislative initiatives that would allow the federal housing administration to increase its scale to reach a wider range of borrowers and develop appropriate underwriting and pricing methodologies to deal with any increased risk and another that would strengthen the oversight of fannie mae and freddie mac are important compliments to our regulatory efforts to strengthen the housing markets. another major outreach effort involves gathering information on the best practices for addressing community development issues and then disseminating that information through publications, meetings, and forums. since january 2007, community affairs offices across the federal reserve system have sponsored or cosponsored more than 75 events related to foreclosures, reaching more than 5, 800 lenders, counselors,