WASHINGTON — Regulators are working closely to strengthen oversight of the inner workings of America’s financial system, part of a broader effort to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.

The financial overhaul law enacted last year directs the Fed and other agencies to better coordinate supervision of financial “clearinghouses.”

They are institutions that handle the enormous volume of payments and transactions of securities and derivatives conducted each day by financial companies. Clearinghouses are a key part of the country’s financial infrastructure.

These institutions generally performed well during the financial crisis, Bernanke said in prepared remarks to a financial markets conference meeting in Stone Mountain, Ga. But “we should not take for granted that we will be as lucky in the future,” he said.

Bernanke said the Fed is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement the new law’s provisions.

In his speech, Bernanke did not talk about the Fed’s $600 billion government bond-purchase program, which is scheduled to end in June. The program is intended to invigorate the economy by spurring Americans to spend more by lowering rates on loans.

A vocal minority on the Fed has raised concerns that the bond purchases, combined with higher prices for food, fuel and other commodities, will spread inflation through the economy. Some members have said they might push to either end the program early or scale it back.