Ben Bernanke heading for Fed exit

President Obama has all but confirmed that the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke will step down at the end of his current term. The Fed’s chief policymaker is now expected to step down at the end of January 2014, eight years after he assumed office under the then President George W Bush.

During a routine interview President Obama told a journalist that Mr. B had “already stayed a lot longer than he wanted or he was supposed to”. The president of the United States of America then went on to say “Ben Bernanke has done an outstanding job”. The Federal Reserve’s chairman has been influential in keeping the US economy afloat during one of the worst economic crisis in living memory. He has overseen multiple rounds of quantitative easing, including the now famous and active “QE3” policy which is currently injecting $85 billion per month into the United States economy.

While nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet, Ben Bernanke did drop a hint back in March which suggested that he may step down at the end of the current term. Mr Bernanke was quoted as saying “I don’t think that I am the only person in the world who can manage the exit”. When asked whether he had spoken to President Obama about departing from his position as the chairman of the Federal Reserve he said “I think the president has got quite a few issues he needs to be thinking about, from the fiscal cliff to many other appointments and so”.

While Ben Bernanke does have these critics, you cannot argue with lasting impact that he will have on the US economy in years to come. When he assumed the position in early 2006 very few people, if any, could have predicted the financial meltdown that was about to take place in just two short years. His handling of the situation since then, in addition to his willingness to stay on to see the task for the completion, should be commended.