Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Obama: Wall Street should embrace reforms

|
|
 
  
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Federal Hall National Memorial in New York, on Monday, September 14, 2009. Obama, speaking a year after Lehman Brothers Inc. collapsed, outlined his plan for unwinding government involvement in the financial sector. UPI/Daniel Acker/Pool 
Published: Sept. 14, 2009 at 1:10 PM

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama urged financial firms Monday to "embrace" regulatory reforms proposed by his administration, saying they owe a debt to taxpayers.

Reminding financiers that middle-class families are bearing the burden of financial institution bailouts, Obama, speaking at the Freedom Hall National Memorial on New York's Wall Street, called on bankers "to embrace serious financial reform, not fight it," and to not "shirk your obligation to the goal of wider recovery" by returning to excessive risk-taking.

"I want to urge you to demonstrate that you take this obligation to heart," the president said. "To put greater effort into helping families who need their mortgages modified under my administration's home ownership plan. To help small business owners who desperately need loans and who are bearing the brunt of the decline in available credit."

Even though "we can be confident that the storms of the past two years are beginning to break," Obama warned Wall Street that "the old ways that led to this crisis cannot stand," adding, "History cannot be allowed to repeat itself."

Obama predicted that his proposed financial regulations will become law, and urged Wall Street to get on board by supporting a new consumer protection agency and beefed-up securities regulation meant to keep pace with quickly changing market innovations.

His speech came on the one-year anniversary of the demise of Lehman Brothers, which pushed an already struggling economy further toward recession.

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade Proposition 8 ruled unconstitutional in California
AARP Movies for Grownups Award Gala The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Snowy Owls make appearance in Washington
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
North Korea's iconic concrete pyramid, the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, is now covered in mirrored...
Been looking for a loophole in the 5-day waiting period and background check to purchase an assault...
St. Louis man fatally shot trying to get people to sign a petition to make Missouri safer
Two men use a rolled-up magazine 'radar gun' in an attempt to pull over a motorist... who of course...
WORLD FARK PARTY II: Mar 30 - Apr 1 in Las Vegas - see comments for details
Over 40 percent of women carry sexy panties in their purse in case a date with somebody other than...