Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke found out the hard way what millions of average American families are dealing with.

Speaking at a recent conference in Chicago, Bernanke said that the lending standards are so tight that he was unable to refinance his own home loan recently.

When the audience laughed, Bernanke said, “I’m not making that up. I think it’s entirely possible” that lenders “may have gone a little bit too far on mortgage credit conditions,” he said.

Not every lender is turning Bernanke down.  Anthony Hsieh here, chief executive officer and chairman of loanDepot LLC, wrote Bernanke:

“I wish I could say I was surprised. But it looks like being the former chairman of the Federal Reserve won’t save you from the “refinance runaround” millions of creditworthy borrowers in our country encounter every year when they deal with the typical mortgage lender. And it’s not really the lender’s fault, it gets down to unnecessarily strict guidelines most of us must follow in today’s environment.

“Ben, it doesn’t have to be that way. Give us a call and we’ll look at your application today. We’ll do our best to refinance your home – no hassles. It doesn’t matter why you want to refinance, I think we might be able to help you.

“Please don’t get the wrong idea, Ben. We’re not trying to curry favor or win your influence. Sure, I’ll admit I’m a fan of yours, but the refinance loan I’m offering you is the same deal we offer to every creditworthy borrower every day.”