SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – A crescendo of public warnings from hawkish Federal Reserve officials about the dangers of having a $3 trillion-plus balance sheet appears to have done little to sway the Fed’s top ranks.

While Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday signaled a willingness to begin scaling back the U.S. central bank’s bond-buying program if the economy continues to improve, he downplayed the program’s risks and made clear that he does not expect to begin tightening policy anytime soon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday pressed forward with its aggressive policy stimulus despite improvements in the U.S. economy, pointing to still-high unemployment, fiscal headwinds out of Washington and risks from abroad.

Meeting as turmoil in Europe took another turn for the worse, the U.S. central bank appeared unfazed by concerns that its $85 billion (56.2 billion pounds) in monthly bond purchases could disrupt financial markets or inflate asset bubbles.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday pressed forward with its aggressive efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy through large-scale bond purchases, saying unemployment remains too high and citing “restrictive” fiscal policy.

Meeting just as turmoil in Europe took another turn for the worse, the central bank removed a key section of its policy statement indicating financial conditions had eased.