Video: Bernanke Was 'Sanguine' on Derivatives

Oct. 9, 2008, 2:34 p.m. EDT

On Monday, we reported that the nation’s top regulators at the Treasury, SEC and Fed each opposed greater regulation of the market in derivatives. Only after the financial crisis exposed the risks inherent in the derivatives market did they change their minds. The following video documents an exchange between Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and former Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) on the topic of derivatives at Bernanke’s November 2005 Senate confirmation hearing. Sarbanes warns Bernanke that inattention to the issue could later "haunt" him.

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