PORTLAND – Banks should step in to fill the void created by problems in the subprime market that led to a wave of foreclosures, Boston’s Fed chief said.

Many borrowers who took relatively risky subprime loans have better credit histories and more equity than the foreclosure wave suggests, Eric Rosengren said. Bank refinancing would help people hang onto their homes and provide market stability, he said.

Rosengren spoke Wednesday in Portland during his first address since being tapped as chief of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The Colby College graduate was named in June to head the central bank’s Boston office -at the same time foreclosures among subprime borrowers were rising rapidly and financial markets were roiled by mortgage problems.

Rosengren said he has been meeting with bankers in all six New England states, encouraging them to offer subprime loans to some of the better credit risks.

He said he expects investors’ confidence will return and mortgage lenders will re-enter the market, but it will take time. “In the meantime, it will be important for banks to provide their usual role as a provider of liquidity during times of distress,” he said.

Rosengren said the economy was moving into a sweet spot before the summer’s mortgage mess.

The turbulence was caused by problems with mortgages offered to borrowers with poor credit histories, no money for down payments or other financial problems.

Subprime mortgages generally offer low interest rates to start, but they reset at much higher rates, sometimes with payments that double, or worse. Flat housing prices made it harder to refinance to lower payments to keep the homes.