Bernanke says Fed’s balance sheet isn’t the biggest
In replying to Senator Shelby about the size of the Fed's balance sheet, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said "there are other central banks whose balance sheets have been this large, such as Japan." Perhaps he's not choosing a great example there.
Bernanke suggested that the Fed has thought through how to unwind QE without damaging long-term inflation expectations. He claims that the Fed "has the tools necessary to tighten monetary policy when the time comes to do so".
It seems sensible to contrast incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney and Bernanke on the notion of 'too big to fail'. While both are worried about financial institutions being considered as such, Carney suggested yesterday that finance requires an injection of competititve capitalism. Bernanke however, stated that current market expectations that banks would now be bailed out are incorrect.