INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Rich MillerFormer Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged that policy makers made two critical errors fighting the financial
subject released on Thursday.
Bernanke, the Fed chief from 2006 until 2014, is now a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution in
He singled out the panic that engulfed the financial system with the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
second Fed policy maker to issue a public mea culpa this week
Former Vice Chairman Donald Kohn agreed that the central bank made forecasting errors during the crisis and its aftermath
The Fed also over-estimated the potential costs of its controversial quantitative-easing program and so was more timid than needed in
economists who contend that the housing-price bust -- and its impact on household wealth and consumer spending -- was the main driver of the
deep downturn a decade ago
concern that post-crisis reforms had left the Fed and other policy makers with fewer tools to combat the next crisis.
In an effort to
prevent future government bailouts, Congress curbed the ability of the Fed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp
and the Treasury Department to provide emergency support to the financial system.
While the reforms overall had significantly improved the
