FRANKFURT -- The heads of Europe's leading central banks welcomed the reappointment of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for another four-year term.
"I am extremely pleased to learn that Ben Bernanke has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in an emailed statement. "We have had an excellent and very close working relationship during the current episode of exceptional challenges for the world economy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have, together with other central banks, initiated an unprecedented level of close cooperation, which has been key in coping with the present situation."
U.S. President Barack Obama renominated Mr. Bernanke for four more years. The nomination has to be approved formally by the U.S. Senate, but few observers expect the upper house of Congress to block the nomination.
Bank of England Gov. Mervyn King, who once worked alongside Mr. Bernanke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also praised Mr. Obama's decision.
"Ben brings strong leadership to the Federal Reserve at this vital time," Mr. King said.
Write to Geoffrey T. Smith at geoffrey.smith@dowjones.com
United States President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he is nominating Ben Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States.
White House in April.
Obama made the announcement during a brief break from his vacation at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

"The man next to me, Ben Bernanke, has led the Fed through one of the worst financial crises that this nation and the world has ever faced. As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I'm sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that's exactly what he has helped to achieve. And that is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve," the President said.

"Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall," Obama added.

"We have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable economic and financial environment in which opportunity can again flourish, and in which Americans' hard work and creativity can receive their proper rewards," Ben Bernanke said while accepting the nomination.

Ben Bernanke, who succeeded Alan Greenspan on February 1, 2006, will now face a Senate confirmation hearing.

"There will be a thorough and comprehensive confirmation hearing," said Senator Christopher Dodd, who is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. "I expect many serious questions will be raised about the role of the Federal Reserve moving forward and what authorities it should and should not have."

"I am extremely pleased to learn that Ben Bernanke has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve," read a statement by Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank. "We have had an excellent and very close working relationship during the current episode of exceptional challenges for the world economy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have, together with other central banks, initiated an unprecedented level of close cooperation, which has been key in coping with the present situation."