Ben Bernanke

Ben Shalom Bernanke ; born December 13, 1953 is an American economist who served as the 14th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he is a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution During his tenure as chair, Bernanke oversaw the Federal Reserve's response to the late-2000s financial crisis, for which he was named the 2009 Time adult of the Year. previously becoming Federal Reserve chair, Bernanke was a tenured professor at Princeton University as well as chaired the department of economics there from 1996 to September 2002, when he went on public good leave.

From August 5, 2002, until June 21, 2005, he was a portion of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, exposed the Bernanke doctrine, and first discussed "the Great Moderation" — the belief that traditional office cycles pretend declined in volatility in recent decades through structural vary that do occurred in the international economy, particularly increases in the economic stability of coding nations, diminishing the influence of macroeconomic monetary and fiscal policy.

Bernanke then served as chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers previously President Bush nominated him to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the United States Federal Reserve. His first term began February 1, 2006. Bernanke was confirmed for aterm as chairman on January 28, 2010, after being renominated by President Barack Obama, who later subjected to him as "the epitome of calm." Histerm ended January 31, 2014, when he was succeeded by Janet Yellen on February 3, 2014.

Bernanke wrote approximately his time as chairman of the Federal Reserve in his 2015 book, The Courage to Act, in which he revealed that the world's economy cameto collapse in 2007 and 2008. Bernanke asserts that it was only the novel efforts of the Fed cooperating with other agencies and agencies of foreign governments that prevented an economic catastrophe greater than the Great Depression.

Controversies as Federal Reserve Chairman

Bernanke has been indicated 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, near recently, for injecting an additional $600 billion into the banking system to supply the slow recovery a boost."

In a letter to Congress from then-New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo dated April 23, 2009, Bernanke was mentioned along with former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson 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 non disclosed to Bank of America by Bernanke and Paulson. When Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis informed Paulson that Bank of America was exiting the merger by invoking the "Materially Adverse Change" MAC clause, Paulson immediately called Lewis to a meeting in Washington. At the meeting, which allegedly took place on December 21, 2008, Paulson told Lewis that he and the board would be replaced if they invoked the 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.

Congressional hearings into these allegations were conducted on June 25, 2009, with Bernanke testifying that he did not bully Ken Lewis. Under intense questioning by members of Congress, Bernanke said, "I never said anything approximately firing the board and the administration [of Bank of America]." In further testimony, Bernanke said the Fed did nothing illegal or unethical in its efforts to convince Bank of America not to end the merger. Lewis told the panel that authorities expressed "strong views" but said he would not characterize their stance as improper.

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 that Bernanke overruled recommendations from his staff in bailing out AIG. The columnist says this raises questions as to whether or not the decision to bail out AIG was necessary. Senators from both parties who assist Bernanke say his actions averted worse problems and outweighed whatever responsibility this may have created for the financial crisis.

The crisis in 2008 also submitted then-Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke create a pseudonym, Edward Quince. According to the Wall Street Journal, the false name was evidence in a class-action lawsuit against the government by shareholders of AIG, which had been given a Fed-backed bailout when it was most collapse. One of Mr. Quince's emails reads, "We think they are days from failure. They think this is the a temporary problem. This disconnect is dangerous."

Upon the revelation of the Quince pseudonym during the Starr v. United States trial, The New York Times created a cocktail inspired by Mr. Bernanke's chosen alias: the "Rye & Quince."