Fed boosting role

WASHINGTON – Regulators are working closely to strengthen oversight of inner workings of the nation’s financial system, part of a broader effort to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.

The financial overhaul law enacted last year directs the Fed and other agencies to better coordinate supervision of financial “clearinghouses.”

They are institutions that handle the enormous volume of payments and transactions of securities and derivatives conducted each day by financial companies. Clearinghouses are an important part of the country’s financial infrastructure.

These institutions generally performed well during the financial crisis, Bernanke said in prepared remarks to a financial markets conference meeting in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, Ga.

But, he added: “We should not take for granted that we will be as lucky in the future.”