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WASHINGTON (AP) - Banks play an important, though perhaps somewhat diminished, role in providing credit as consumers and businesses increasingly turn to other financial players, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.
"Banks do continue to play a central role in credit markets; in particular, because of the burgeoning market for loan sales, banks originate considerably more loans than they keep on their books," Bernanke said.
"Nevertheless, nonbank lenders have become increasingly important in many credit markets, and relatively few borrowers are restricted to banks as sources of credit," the Fed chief told a monetary policy conference in Atlanta.
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