LoginFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told an audience of bankers and regulators that the Unites States still has a lot of work to do when it come to making the regulatory changes necessary to prevent another financial collapse of the kind that flattened the national economy four years ago.
"Shocks of one kind or another are inevitable, so identifying and addressing vulnerabilities is key to ensuring that the financial system overall is robust," Bernanke said, according to the Washington Post.
While the Fed chair thought that package of reforms rolled out in 2009 Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation were a good start, much more needs to be done to prevent the sort of systemic risk taking that created the bubble conditions which brought about the Great Recession. Though the Fed is now regularly stress testing banks, monitoring credit among lending institutions and watching the health of American businesses and households, Bernanke said more needs to be done to control the "shadow banking system" that operates with minimal regulation.
Bernanke did note that the Fed's stimulus oriented monetary policy might be driving some market speculation, particularly in real estate, but affirmed the central bank's commitment to continue to keep interest rates low through the purchase of government- and asset-backed debt until economic recovery is on more stable footing nationwide.