Fed asks U.S. households to help with finance survey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Monday it is surveying households for data that should yield a better understanding of how finances have changed as a result of the financial crisis that hit in mid-2007 and the deep recession that followed.

The Federal Reserve on Monday released a letter Chairman Ben Bernanke sent to households that participated in a previous survey, asking them to take part in another round of interviews.

"We need to look directly at changes for individual households," he said.

The previous "Survey of Consumer Finances" was published in February and covered the period between 2004 and 2007, but contained additional estimates through October 2008 because of the sharp weakening of the economy at the end of 2007.

Fed economists projected that the collapse of U.S. housing and stock prices would push household net worth down by around 20 percent in 2008.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Andrea Ricci)