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Bernanke defends his post at the Fed
FEDERAL RESERVE chairman Ben Bernanke staunchly defended his role as head of the US central bank in front of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday.
He admitted the Fed could have done more to avoid the crisis but said that without the strong action taken, the consequences could have been markedly worse.
The Senate is currently considering stripping the Fed of its regulatory powers but Bernanke argued that it must retain a supervisory role.
“In order to be a lender of last resort, to know how to respond to an ongoing crisis or threat of crisis we need to have the expertise, information and authority associated with a bank supervisor,” Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee.