Fed chief Bernanke explores options for housing finance

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the housing finance system being constructed following the collapse of the current system will need better safeguards to allow it to function during times of stress.

    Bernanke says whatever shape the new system takes should ensure that the institutions that support the financing of home mortgages do not pose a systemic risk to our financial markets and the economy.

    In a speech prepared for a housing conference in Berkeley, Calif., Bernanke outlined a number of possible ways to structure housing finance in the future, but did not state his own preferences.