Former head of U.S. Fed Reserve says central bank’s role was misunderstood

TORONTO – Former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke says the U.S. central bank needs to work on helping the public understand why it intervened during the recent financial crisis.

In a speech to the Economic Club of Canada, Bernanke says this was one area where the bank could have done better during the crisis.

He says he believes Americans still think the Federal Reserve favoured Wall Street when it bailed out the financial sector.

Bernanke served as the head of the Federal Reserve from 2006 until last year, and played a key role in navigating the United States through the global financial crisis.

He is now an economist at the independent research firm Brookings Institution, headquartered in Washington.

Janet Yellen took the leadership role at the central bank in February.