Outgoing US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke defends record

United States Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has reflected on his eight-year tenure at the helm of the US economy, celebrating the central bank's accomplishments but also highlighting what he called "uncompleted tasks".

Bernanke is stepping down at the end of the month after shepherding his country through its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. He is widely credited with preventing the US economy from free falling, but the lacklustre recovery has led some critics to question whether the Fed is running out of firepower.

In a speech at the American Economics Association conference in Philadelphia, he defended his record and the broader responsibilities that the Fed has shouldered as the bulwark of the US economy.

"The recovery has faced powerful headwinds, suggesting that economic growth might well have been considerably weaker, or even negative, without substantial monetary policy support," he said.

But those headwinds may be abating, he said, leaving the country poised for faster growth.

"The combination of financial healing, greater balance in the housing market, less fiscal restraint, and, of course, continued monetary policy accommodation bodes well for US economic growth in coming quarters," Bernanke said