Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has outlined the central bank's strategy to dealing with the ongoing threat caused by financial institutions that are "too big to fail".

In a speech to the Independent Community Bankers of America National Convention in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, Bernanke put forward his case for splitting up some of the largest of institutions in the United States and said: "It is unconscionable that the fate of the world economy should be so closely tied to