WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. banking system remains sound and the U.S. government will take "any necessary steps" to keep it the strongest and safest financial system in the world, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday.

Yellen said decisive U.S. actions taken after the failure of two regional banks had shored up the financial system.

"The U.S. banking system remains sound and we will take any necessary steps to ensure the United States continues to have the strongest and safest financial system in the world," Yellen said in a speech at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder)