Obama receives assurances Senate will back Bernanke

Washington: US President Barack Obama received assurances from Senate leaders that Ben Bernanke will be confirmed for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, an administration official said.

Support for Bernanke came from Richard Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat who earlier was undecided.

Christopher Dodd, a Democrat who chairs the banking committee, and Judd Gregg, the top Republican on the budget committee, said they are confident that Bernanke will be confirmed, even after some members of both parties announced their opposition.

Stocks fell on January 22 in part on concern that support for the Fed chairman was eroding.

Meeting

Obama called some senators on Friday, including those in the leadership, to ensure Bernanke's confirmation won't be derailed, said the administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I saw Ben Bernanke under fire, facing our nation's most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression," Durbin of Illinois said in a statement. "We need his steady hand as we build our economy and create new jobs across America."

Bernanke's critics said the Fed failed to regulate banks before the credit crisis and questioned its involvement in the $182 billion (Dh667.94 billion) bailout of insurer American International Group Inc.