President Obama Calls JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Executives “Fat Cats” that “Don’t Get It”
December 13th, 2009 •
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President Obama and his team of economic advisors lashed out at large-cap banks calling bank executives “fat cats” that “don’t get it” in a move that will certainly escalate tensions between the nation’s largest banks ahead of a meeting between the White House and industry executive.
Mr. Obama, speaking just one day before tomorrow’s meetings with the heads of top banks at the White House, said that he would attempt to convince bankers to free up more credit for businesses, in hopes of boosting job growth during an interview to be broadcast on CBS’ “60 Minutes” program.
During his interview, President Obama expressed frustration with banks that the government provided assistance to, including JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and others.
“I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street,” said Mr. Obama.
Relations between the White House and the banking industry have deteriorated in recent weeks as large-cap banks have railed against Congress’s proposed overhaul of the financial services industry. Administration officials are also reported to be frustrated by the high-salaries of bank executives and the reluctance of some banks to lend.
President Obama reiterated his frustration during the interview, noting that some banks have continued to award bonuses and restrict lending while many Americans don’t have even have jobs. “Some people on Wall Street still don’t get it,” he said.
One of the White House’s economic advisors, Larry Summers, also stated his frustration with Wall Street on CNN’s “State of the Union” Program. Summers commented, “Here is what I think they don’t get…It was their irresponsible risk-taking in many cases that brought the economy to collapse.”
“And they don’t get in some cases that they wouldn’t be where they are today, and they certainly would not be paying the bonuses they are paying today, if their government hadn’t taken extraordinary actions,” said Summers.
Summers criticized large-cap banks for opposing the financial regulatory overhaul in Congress that would provide tighter regulation to the financial industry. Banks and their lobbyists have said that the new legislation would duplicate existing rules and create new overly broad rules that would be very costly to enforce.
http://www.americanbankingnews.com/...ac-executives-“fat-cats”-that-“don’t-get-it”/
