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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve has taken its boldest action since the Great Depression, invoking rarely used powers in an effort to contain a panic threatening to undermine the economy. The central bank acted with speed the White House and Congress only could envy.

The Fed is largely free from many constraints that bog down other policymakers. Also, it is the only U.S. institution with the authority and ability to create money out of thin air.

For now, the steps orchestrated by Chairman Ben Bernanke, in the first critical test of his leadership since succeeding Alan Greenspan in early 2006, are earning praise from the Bush administration, Congress and presidential contenders Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain.

But the Fed's moves are raising questions about whether its regulatory powers, established in the early 20th century, need overhauling and whether it took on some responsibilities that Congress and the administration should have shouldered.

In a remarkable week, the Fed:

--engineered the fire sale of bankruptcy-headed Bear Stearns Cos. to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. with a $30 billion loan.

--offered emergency loans to other securities dealers under terms normally reserved for regulated banks.

--slashed a key short-term interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point, to 2.25 percent. The cut was sixth since September.

These steps followed moves to lend $100 billion in cash to banks and $200 billion in Treasury bonds to cash-strapped investment banks. The goal was to keep the financial system from seizing up.

''I spent 35 years on Wall Street, have been a Fed watcher for a long time and I have never seen the potential for a more severe credit crisis than this one,'' said David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors and a former Wall Street economist. ''It looks like we turned the corner precisely because of what the Fed did.''

Was this the first look at a more activist Fed or just a targeted response to a looming economic meltdown?

Either way, the financial sector and its regulators are expected to come under congressional scrutiny in the days ahead.

Lawmakers from both parties are coming up with suggestions for restructuring the regulation of financial markets. The Treasury Department is working on its own blueprint for change.

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is proposing new regulations on investment banks similar to those that apply to regular banks. That includes mandatory requirements for cash reserves to cushion losses.

Frank, D-Mass., said the Fed or other government entity should be designated as a ''financial services regulator'' with the power to limit risky practices.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the administration would study the concept and other ideas ''as we consider if there's additional things that we need to do.''

Bear Stearns' unraveling and the credit woes facing other financial companies brought new attention to the Fed, which is part of the government and part of the commercial banking system.

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