Bernanke Says Regulatory Overhauls Will Help Avoid More Crises

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said new regulatory structures such as the Dodd-Frank Act and the Basel accords are important in helping to prevent another crisis because they give regulators a more holistic view of the financial system.

Regulators want to “take steps to provide a warning” of an approaching crisis, Bernanke said at the Fed in Washington today at a town hall meeting with teachers. The overhauls also aim “to make the system itself as resilient as possible” in a shock, while new international capital standards give banks more of a cushion against “significant losses,” he said.

“Greater capital, stronger rules on derivatives trading, more liquidity” will make the system stronger, Bernanke said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Kearns in Washington at jkearns3@bloomberg.net; Steve Matthews in Atlanta at smatthews@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net