Associated Press Bernanke calls for overhaul of nation's regulatory structure to avoid future financial crises

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's financial rule book must be rewritten to prevent a repeat of the global economic crisis now gripping the United States and other countries, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.

"We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole ... not just its individual components," Bernanke said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Bernanke offered new details on how to bolster mutual funds and a program that insures bank deposits. He also stressed the need for regulators to make sure financial companies have a sufficient capital cushion against potential losses.

The Fed chief's remarks come as the Obama administration and Congress are crafting their overhaul strategies. For the administration, critical work will be carried out among global finance officials this weekend in London ahead of next month's meeting of leaders from the world's 20 major economic powers.

The patchwork of U.S. financial rules dates to the Civil War. Congress, the administration and the Fed want to strengthen the system to avoid any future financial crises from plunging the U.S. economy and many others into recession. more...