Plumbing is usually taken for granted, but when there is a problem, it is invariably messy, expensive to resolve and can require emergency intervention.

More than a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers focused attention on the financial market’s intricate maze of plumbing, building a better system is still a work in progress. The Federal Reserve, in its role as the financial system’s emergency plumber, recently created a task force, pulling together clearing banks, dealers and other investors, so they can strengthen the pipes.