Flood watches are posted for the southern half of Minnesota ahead of a round of storms that could bring 1-4 inches of rain

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

President Barack Obama told top bankers Monday
to explore "every responsible way" to increase lending, saying
they were obliged to help repair the American economy after being
saved by the taxpayer-funded bailout.


      In a statement after more than an hour with the executives,
Obama said he reminded them that much of the financial crisis that
took the U.S. banking system to the brink of collapse had been "of
their own making." He also exhorted the executives - both in
private and in public - to drop their opposition an overhaul of the
nation's financial industry.


      "If they wish to fight common sense consumer protections,
that's a fight I'm more than willing to have," Obama told
reporters in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the executive
mansion.


      He also urged lenders to find creative ways to free up lending.
Obama said banks have benefited from bailouts and should use that
strength to lend more money to consumer and businesses.


      "But given the difficulty business people are having as lending
has declined and given the exceptional assistance banks received to
get them through a difficult time," he said, "we expect them to
explore every responsible way to help get our economy moving
again."


      "And so I urged these institutions here today to go back and
take a third and fourth look about how they are operating when it
comes to small business and medium-sized business lending."


      The bankers planned to tell Obama that lending is limited by
factors beyond their control: The sluggish economy and tighter
oversight by regulators. The slow economy has businesses reluctant
to expand - and makes banks more grim about their prospects. Loan
applications are down.


      Meanwhile, regulators are telling banks to be more skeptical
about potential borrowers. They are forcing banks to keep larger
cushions of capital to protect against future losses. That means
there's less money available to lend.


      The meeting cam
 amid Obama's fierce criticism of Wall Street.
In an interview that aired on Sunday, Obama rebuked executive
paychecks at firms that only last year required tax dollars to keep
their doors open.


      "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat
bankers on Wall Street," Obama told CBS's "60 Minutes."

Gallery

Business and Economic News

President Barack Obama says banks have a
greater obligation to help the U.S. economy recover because they
received "extraordinary" assistance from the government and
taxpayers.

Obama to banks: ease lending to businesses

Go Deeper.

Like this?