Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke voiced support Monday for a compromise struck by US lawmakers over the weekend on a massive rescue for the financial sector worth up to 700 billion dollars. "I welcome the agreement by the Congress and the administration on a comprehensive plan to stabilise our financial system and support our economy," Bernanke said in a statement on the weekend deal.
"This legislation should help to restore the flow of credit to households and businesses that is essential for economic growth and job creation, while at the same time affording strong and necessary protections for taxpayers. I look forward to swift passage of the legislation."
The legislation, unveiled Sunday as the fruit of tough talks among Democratic and Republican leaders and the White House five weeks before the November 4 US elections, is not certain to clear the US Congress.
The largest government economic intervention since the Great Depression aims to shore up the economy after the bursting of US housing bubble ravaged the global banking system and dried up credit. The package gives the Treasury secretary authority to buy up toxic mortgage-related assets in troubled banks in hopes of easing the credit flow and reviving the housing market.