Obama proposes sweeping reforms to financial system

President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of the nation's financial meltdown with a speech on Wall Street calling for sweeping reform of the financial system and its regulators.

"We intend to pass regulatory reform through Congress," Obama said during his address. "We're proposing the most ambitious overhaul of the [system] since the Great Depression."

Obama began by excoriating those financial institutions he believed were trying to "game" the system and the country's consumers. He proposed the creation of a new agency that would assist consumers in the marketplace and protect them from potential abuse.

"There's no single agency charged with making sure that doesn't happen," the president said, criticizing the many mortgage and credit card companies that insufficiently informed consumers of hidden fees, risks or rules. "The consumer financial protection agency will have the power to make sure consumers get information that is correct and concise."

Among other reforms, Obama also appealed to lawmakers for "clear accountability and responsibility" rules for financial firms that possess serious financial risk, and proposed the creation of "an oversight council that brings regulators from across markets" together to share information.

"This is intended to put an end to the idea that some firms are too big to fail," Obama said of his reforms.

Obama also reminded Wall Street investors and bankers that they do "not have to wait for a new law" to begin implementing the new controls he proposed -- all of which, the president assured, will clear Congress by the year's end.

"Many of the firms returning to prosperity owe a debt to the American people," Obama explained, later adding: "It is neither right nor responsible, after you recovered.... to shirk your obligation to a wider recovery."