Yellen Downplays Banking Woes, Says World Economy Has Improved

United States Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen has shrugged off recent banking spasms to declare the global economy better off than six months ago as she laid out her agenda for a week of meetings with global finance officials in the US capital.

Yellen recalled that in February, she had described the global economy as being “in a better place than many predicted last fall,” before adding, “that basic picture remains largely unchanged,” according to the text of remarks she’s scheduled to deliver Tuesday in Washington.

The Treasury head is scheduled to take questions from the media following her remarks, which come at the beginning of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings, accor

Yellen’s somewhat upbeat reading comes despite the dramatic failure of two mid-sized US lenders in March that threatened to destabilize the financial system and undermine growth. The near-collapse of European banking giant Credit Suisse Group, also in March, shook investors worldwide.

Yellen, a former chair of the US central bank, made only a glancing reference to the tremors in her prepared remarks, before voicing confidence in international financial infrastructure.

“The US banking system remains sound, with strong capital and liquidity positions,” she said. “The global financial system also remains resilient due to the significant reforms that nations took after the financial crisis.”