White House: Stance on Bonuses is More Than Talk
"This is not hope," Gibbs said at his daily briefing after a reporter wondered if there is anything the White House can really do to limit the bonuses. "This is -- this is more."
Another reporter asked if there is "anything you guys can do to force them to lend, other than, you know, kind of jawbone." Firms like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have made massive profits this year in large part thanks to their investment banking businesses even as consumer lending has remained sluggish.
"Well, I think, look, that there are obviously constraints in the law, and I would -- just in terms of executive compensation, as we've said before, we're not, we don't want to be in the business of deciding executive compensation," replied Gibbs. "I think people know excessive when they see it. I think the president, as you mentioned, has extremely strong views on this topic, on the topic of lending. And I think we hope that the actions of the bank will be demonstrated."
Gibbs said "we are involved now in a debate about what the regulatory landscape is going to look going forward to ensure that we never repeat again what happened last September." Echoing administration officials on Sunday, he complained that bailed-out banks are now "working actively against [establishing] consumer protections."
He urged banks "not to go back to the type of behavior that got us into this mess, to ensure that what the taxpayers have done is met by the banks with increased lending to small businesses and others that need access to much-needed capital."
A reporter asked if the White House is caught in the middle – seeking an increase in lending by banks to spur economic growth even as skittish regulators suggest that banks should avoid lending in order to fix their balance sheets.
"Well, look, I don't think anybody would suggest that we return to lending to consumers or anybody else that doesn't have the wherewithal to borrow and ultimately pay back the money," Gibbs said. "But nobody in this administration is suggesting that. I think the administration is simply suggesting that, with the responsibility borne by the taxpayer, responsibility is also borne by those recipients and others that were beneficiaries of the type of assistance that allowed those banks to continue, even though they had made record profits off of tremendously bad decision-making."
"This is not something that's going to be solved overnight," he added. "And the president and his team will continue to watch over it to ensure that lending is taking place and that, as we move forward, we'll get some rules of the road that won't let this be repeated again."
Read more: Wall Street Bonuses Could Mean Headache for Obama