Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke stressed Tuesday that major financial institutions would not be allowed to fail given the fragile state of financial markets and the global economy. In a speech in Washington, Bernanke repeated that until the banking system recovers, a sustainable economic recovery will "remain out of reach." "In particular, the continued viability of systemically important financial institutions is vital to this effort," Bernanke said in a speech to the Council of Foreign Relations. Bernanke also laid out his thinking on a fresh approach to the regulation of financial markets. Weaknesses in the current regulatory regime have been glaringly obvious during the financial crisis.