Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said he’s optimistic that US banks may start making it easier for customers to get credit after the financial crisis led lenders to tighten standards. “Although bank credit remains tight, I see some reasons for optimism,” Bernanke said today in a speech in Chicago. The economy is recovering, and banks’ senior loan officers expect a “modest reduction in their troubled loans” over the next year, outside of commercial real estate, he said. “As a result, bank attitudes toward lending may be shifting.”