Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said that the current economic recession could “probably” end this year if the government’s plans to boost the economy work.

Bernanke’s comments were aired on the “60 minutes” television news program.

He noted, however that the recession could extend into 2010 would depend on the success of making banks lend more and restoring functionality to the financial markets.

“We’ve seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely,” he said. “But until we that stabilized and working normally, we’re not gonna see recovery.”

“But we do have a plan,” he added. “We’re working on it, And, I do think that we will get it stabilized, and we’ll see the recession coming to an end probably this year. We’ll see recovery beginning next year. And it will pick up steam over time.”

He said that the unemployment rate would continue to rise than the current 8.1 percent, however he noted again that success in stabilizing the financial system would lead to a slower pace of decline, and eventually, stabilization, setting a basis for recovery.

Ben Bernanke