by Calculated Risk on 3/29/2012 04:12:00 PM

This is part 4 of 4 of a lecture series on the Federal Reserve.

From the WSJ: Fed Chief Bernanke Defends Bond Buys

In the period after World War II, "many central banks began to view financial stability as kind of a junior partner to monetary policy—it was not as important," Mr. Bernanke said. "It's now clear that maintaining financial stability is just as important a responsibility as monetary and economic stability, and indeed this is very much a return to where the Fed came from in the beginning."

My comment: One of the key reason for the financial crisis was the lack of proper oversight during the bubble. Usually I'm pretty optimistic, but as time passes, and memories fade, the oversight will probably be ignored again.

Here is a link to the lecture series including links to videos.

Here are the slides for the lectures:
Lecture 1: Origins and Mission of the Federal Reserve
Lecture 2: The Federal Reserve after World War II
Lecture 3: The Federal Reserve’s Response to the Financial Crisis
Lecture 4: The Aftermath of the Crisis