Obama On Financial Reform: If Wall Street ‘Folks Want A Fight, It’s A Fight I’m Ready To Have’

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President Obama has a message for Wall Street: “If these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have.”

In remarks today on limiting the size and scope of financial institutions, President Obama said that “it’s important that we not lose sight of what led us into this mess in the first place.”

Obama continued that “while the financial system is far stronger today than it was one year ago, it’s still operating under the same rules that led to its near collapse.” It was a “binge of irresponsibility.”

“That’s why,” he said, “we are seeking reforms to protect consumers.”

These reforms include “The Volcker Rule,” (named for Paul Volcker, who currently chairs Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board) and says that “banks will no longer be allowed to own, invest or sponsor hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading operations for their own profit unrelated to serving their customers.”

Obama said he is “also proposing we prevent the further consolidation of our financial system.”

He then called for financial leaders to “work with us, and not against us on needed reforms,” but describes the “army of industry lobbyists from Wall Street descending on Capitol Hill,” trying to stop these reforms from happening.

Obama’s original statement on the proposed reforms can be found here.

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