"Ben Shalom Bernanke; (born December 13, 1953) is an American economist at the Brookings Institution who served two terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States from 2006 to 2014. During his tenure as chairman, Bernanke oversaw the Federal Reserve's response to the late-2000s financial crisis.
...From 2002 until 2005, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System...
Bernanke then served as chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers before President Bush nominated him to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the United States Federal Reserve. His first term began February 1, 2006.
By virtue of the chairmanship, he sat on the Financial Stability Oversight Board that oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program. (TARP)
In a letter to Congress from then-New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo dated April 23, 2009, Bernanke was mentioned ...in allegations of fraud concerning the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America. The letter alleged that the extent of the losses at Merrill Lynch were not disclosed to Bank of America by Bernanke and Paulson. ...on December 21, 2008, Paulson told [Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis Lewis] that he and the board would be replaced if they invoked [a "Materially Adverse Change" (MAC)] clause and additionally not to reveal the extent of the losses to shareholders. Paulson stated to Cuomo's office that he was directed by Bernanke to threaten Lewis in this manner...
According to a January 26, 2010, column in The Huffington Post, a whistleblower has disclosed documents providing "'troubling details' of Bernanke's role in the AIG bailout". Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky said on CNBC that he had seen documents which show Bernanke overruled recommendations from his staff in bailing out AIG.
Bernanke was confirmed for a second term as Chairman on January 28, 2010, by a 70–30 vote of the full Senate, historically the narrowest margin for any occupant of the position.
Bernanke has been subjected to criticism concerning the late-2000s financial crisis. According to The New York Times, Bernanke "has been attacked for failing to foresee the financial crisis, for bailing out Wall Street, and, most recently, for injecting an additional $600 billion into the banking system to give the slow recovery a boost."
His second term ended February 1, 2014 when he was succeeded by Janet Yellen."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Bernanke
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