Bernanke the risk taker

Bernanke the risk taker
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke launched an unprecedented battle against the financial crisis, but the risks he assumed have him walking a tightrope.


.In nominating the Federal Reserve chairman to a second term, President Obama on Tuesday compared Bernanke's efforts to avert a second Great Depression to FDR's "bold, persistent experimentation" to get the country out of the first one.
But Bernanke's efforts weren't easy -- or without critics.
The Fed has taken on unprecedented risk: It took on a trillion dollars of troubled assets, slashed interest rates, bailed out financial industry titans and launched more than a dozen expensive lending programs.
Bernanke is sure to face a lively confirmation debate in the Senate before his first term is up in January of next year.
"The problem with all of the risk is that it has created an unhappiness with Congress," said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed governor. "It's going to create problems for Bernanke in his confirmation, but these things had to be done to prevent an absolute meltdown in the economy."