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HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the central bank Sunday, insisting that its actions had not hindered economic growth in developing countries.
Fed policies -- especially continued quantitative easing -- have been criticized by some in the international community who say the actions are distorting currency markets and capital flows in emerging economies.
Officials in some of those markets -- including China -- have voiced concern that the Fed's easy-money policies have the potential to create asset bubbles, currency appreciation and inflation. Guido Mantega, Brazil's finance minister, has beenparticularly critical of the Fed, alleging it has contributed to a "monetary tsunami" that is hindering growth.
The Fed announced last month that it would embark on a third round of bond-buying stimulus. The policy, known as quantitative easing and often abbreviated as QE3, entails buying $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month.
But Bernanke argued Sunday that those policies are not to be blamed for trouble in emerging markets.
"It is not at all clear that accommodative policies in advanced economies impose net costs on emerging market economies," the Fed chief said during a speech in Tokyo, Japan.
Bernanke said that capital flows are influenced by many factors, and changes cannot be attributed wholesale to the monetary policy choices of developed economies. Instead,...
