Political Quotes

“Mr. President, 2 weeks ago, we were given a cautionary lesson about the need to ensure that our Nation's banks are carefully regulated. We are still learning the details about the $2 billion bad bet made by banking giant JP Morgan Chase. But what we have learned is disturbing. Apparently, the London office of this Wall Street giant crafted a credit derivative trading strategy that spun out of control over the course of 6 weeks. At the center of the strategy was one single trader who was nicknamed ``the London whale.'' One trader, 6 weeks, $2 billion gone. It is not clear how widely the repercussions of this trading loss will extend, but this incident clearly is an important reminder to all of us that we cannot afford to take a hands-off regulatory approach to the giant financial institutions on Wall Street. These institutions drove this Nation to the brink of economic disaster just a few years ago. If they are simply left to their own devices, it could easily happen again. We need reasonable financial regulation that will ensure transparency, competition, and choice. We need to prevent Wall Street banks from fixing the rules and setting up rigged schemes that line their own pockets and hang Main Street America out to dry. Two years ago, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This legislation took on the challenge of placing a reasonable regulatory framework on Wall Street. It is a tough challenge.…”