“The primary mechanism for regulating excessive leverage and other aspects of risk-taking in a market economy is the discipline provided by creditors, counterparties and investors,” said Mr Bernanke, who was speaking at a Sea Island, Georgia conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

He expressed scepticism over proposals to create a database that would contain information on hedge-fund positions and portfolios to improve monitoring of potential risks. He said prime brokers, which provide a wide range of services to hedge funds including leverage, must be fully aware of the risks involved in their dealings with hedge funds. The divergent comments of bank officials signal the varied perceptions of hedge funds and the difficulties of setting a global standard of oversight.

Charlie McCreevy, the EU Internal Markets Commissioner, also ruled out introducing new regulations for hedge funds earlier this month, telling a European committee that they played a central role in putting the “fear of God” in company management. He said “My own view on hedge funds is I don’t see a compelling case for specific EU legislation… In the main, hedge funds are a catalyst for change.”

Under the SEC rule, most hedge fund managers now must register with the agency. That opens the funds’ books to SEC examiners and makes them subject to an array of regulations including accounting and disclosure requirements. The examiners will be able to conduct inspection “sweeps” of hedge funds, and under the Patriot Act, investment companies, including private investment funds, are subject to enhanced scrutiny, including a study on the potential use of investment companies for laundering money and mandating recommendations as to whether the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, (the BSA), should be applied to investment companies and hedge funds.

The Treasury Department will monitor and examine the trillion-dollar industry, Randy Quarles, the undersecretary for domestic finance said. “While hedge funds provide certain benefits to the financial markets, they can also put stresses on it that need attention,” Quarles testified.

Quarles said the department will examine the hedge fund industry “with a view to evaluating whether the growth of hedge funds … (holds) the potential to change the overall level or nature of risk in our markets and financial institutions.” He said later, however, that the regulators didn’t plan new regulations for the industry.

“On the basis of what we’ve seen so far I wouldn’t say there’s any inclination on our part for further regulation,” Quarles said in an interview on the CNBC cable TV.