Steps Toward Bank Accountability
January 25, 2010
Americans struggle today with the disastrous results of unaccountable executives whose greed and irresponsible conduct created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Too many CEOs and financial institutions put short-term profits ahead of the creation of long-term and sustainable wealth. The foolish, short-sighted risk-taking by major financial institutions, at the expense of shareholders and the public, must never happen again.
President Obama laid out significant proposals last week for reforming the nation’s financial sector. He addressed the failure of banks to fulfill their core mission of serving their customers, which led to the financial crisis. The President proposed new fees on Wall Street to ensure the taxpayers get their money back, and had a strong message for banks that might object to these changes:
“And my resolve is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform; and when I see soaring profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms claiming that they can’t lend more to small business, they can’t keep credit card rates low, they can’t pay a fee to refund taxpayers for the bailout without passing on the cost to shareholders or customers – that’s the claims they're making. It’s exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary.”
It’s high time for financial institutions to pay back the loan that the American people extended when the financial crisis hit. The projected $100 billion that would be recovered would be very helpful in jump-starting the nation’s economic engine, keeping Americans in their homes and creating jobs.
It is time to fix the problems that sent our economy into a downward spiral that we are still trying to escape. The President’s proposals are important steps to make financial institutions accountable and responsible. America must never again get into a situation where irresponsible conduct profits the banks while punishing the public.
