Fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables in an upright position, because the economy is cleared for flight.
At least, that is the message that
BlackRock chief executive
Larry Fink expressed during an interview on
CNBC.
"I truly believe the U.S. economy is ready to be launched," he said during the interview, citing the health of the banks and the country's energy resources.
"Our banks are the best capitalized institutions in the world," Fink said on CNBC's"Closing Bell". "The problem for banks going forward is not capital, the problem for banks going forward is making sure they originate enough loans."
Fink said during the interview that four years into the low interest-rate environment and with bond-buying flattening the yield curve, banks are struggling to replace assets as they mature and net interest margins are falling every quarter.
To reverse that, "they have to aggressively be back in the market and lend," he said. That should lead to a pickup in lending to small businesses which, in turn, will stoke hiring and economic activity.
To catch the interview, as well as Justin Menza's recap of it, go to
CNBC. 
Edited by:
Tommy Fernandez
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