Recovery of the U.S. housing market is being held back by lending standards that are too tight to make sense in this economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said. He said tighter standards were previously justified. "However, it seems likely at this point that the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and that overly tight lending standards may now be preventing creditworthy borrowers from buying homes, thereby slowing the revival in housing and impeding the economic recovery," Bernanke said.