Bernanke: AIG failure would have been 'devastating' to financial system

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke re-affirmed the Fed's and the U.S. Treasury's previous decisions to bail out the banking sector and AIG, and underscored that an AIG failure would have been 'devastating' for the U.S. and global financial systems, C-SPAN reports.

In response to questions from the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke reiterated that wholesale nationalization of the U.S. banking system would not be necessary and that is not the government's plan. However, at the same time, Bernanke added that the banking bailout may need more money beyond the $700 billion Congress has already approved.