Fomer US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that South Africa, among other leading emerging markets, was consulted about the Fed tapering and the withdrawal of the Quantitative Easing (QE) program to stimulate the American economy, The Citizen reported.

Bernanke was surprised at suggestion that the Fed had not considered the effect of the QE plan on emerging markets.

Risk averse investors that had streamed into emerging markets such as South Africa during the financial crisis in the US are exiting in droves due to the QE and causing severe economic shock waves to many EMEA markets.

“There was a lot of interchange. It is not a fair statement that the Fed was not listening to the impact QE has on emerging markets,” Bernanke was quoted by the Citizen saying during the Discovery Leadership Summit in Sandton.

He said the Fed met central bankers of all leading emerging markets on eight to 10 occasions every year to explain their plans and policies. He said he or his vice chairperson also fielded questions and comments from central bankers, including Gill Marcus, governor of the South African Reserve Bank.

Bernanke said that “emerging market governors agreed that when the Fed started to slow down asset purchases (tapering), it would be a sign US economy was recovering, which was only good news.”

“I believe governor Marcus said this recently in public and I agree with that. Slowing asset purchases for the right reasons means that the US economy is strengthening and this will support global growth.”

Bernanke hinted that emerging markets such as South Africa should also take responsibility for their own monetary and fiscal positions. “There is room for emerging markets to take defensive action by improving their own macro policy, that is also in their own interest of course,” he said.

Bernanke’s appearance at the Discovery Leadership Summit was only his second public appearance after leaving the Fed in January.

Reuters reports that he earned at least $250,000 from his first public appearance in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, his first public speaking engagement since he vacated his office at the Fed. Discovery did not disclose his fee for addressing the Leadership Summit in Johannesburg.