REGULATORY failure, not low interest rates, was responsible for the housing bubble and subsequent financial crisis of the past decade, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. Dr Bernanke's remarks, perhaps his strongest language yet on the roots of the financial crisis, came as he awaited both confirmation for a second term as Fed chairman and greater regulatory authority from Congress. ''Stronger regulation and supervision aimed at problems with underwriting practices and lenders' risk management would have been a more effective and surgical approach to constraining the housing bubble than a general increase in interest rates,'' Dr Bernanke told the American Economic Association. Advertisement: Story continues below Dr Bernanke, responding to accusations that the Fed contributed...