The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bernanke supports strengthening consumer protection

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech Thursday at the Jepson Alumni Center that he supported strengthening consumer protection rules and that market participants should be "more conservative and careful."

He offered a series of recommendations for reforming the financial market, including increasing transparency about the risks of certain securities.

"These recommendations should moderate the likelihood and severity of future financial shocks and enable market participants to better withstand shocks when they occur," Bernanke said in a speech in front of more than 250 people from the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond. "We will monitor the effectiveness of the new rules and take additional steps as necessary."

He said the current economic crisis plaguing the country was one of the worst of the post-World War II era, but noted that it would not rival the economic turmoil characteristic of the Great Depression.

In attendance were Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, senior university officials, several students from the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business and about 200 area business executives.

Students in a university macroeconomics class submitted a question to Bernanke asking him to compare a previous real estate crisis in Japan to today's market doldrums.

John McCulla, director of community relations, called the speech the most high-profile event at the university since the 1992 Presidential Debate, which featured former President George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.

Bernanke, a scholar of the financial crises including the Great Depression era, co-wrote a book with business school professor Dean Croushore.

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