CNBC famous mouth: Bank bad debt concerns may provide reason for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as soon as possible

As bad bank debt news hit Wall Street, Jim Cramer, a CNBC financial guru, said the latest development would pave the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, a move widely expected by investors. "It's a really bad market today, but at least we finally have a reason for the Fed to wait to cut rates sooner rather than later - bad bank loans," he said. "There's nothing like a loss of credit to get the Fed to act faster because that's a clear signal that the economy is going downhill." US stock indexes fell broadly on Thursday as concerns grew about the health of regional bank lending. Mr. Cramer pointed to non-performing loans as an early warning sign that it was time for the central bank to ease monetary policy. The banking system has "had enough problem loans" in a week to allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates quickly without overly worrying about inflation. He stressed that lower borrowing rates would not only stimulate the economy generally, but also make it easier for borrowers to avoid default. (Jin Ten)