Bank execs vow to work with Obama on recovery plan

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Bank execs vow to work with Obama on recovery plan
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer Darlene Superville, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Top executives of the nation's biggest banks said Friday after meeting with President Barack Obama that they will work with the administration on its economic recovery plans, but want more specifics from the White House. In an interview with CBS News, Obama said his overarching message was this: "Show some restraint. Show that you get that this is a crisis and everybody has to make sacrifices. They agreed and they recognized it. Now, the proof in the pudding is in the eating."

Bankers said an administration proposal to jump-start lending, a problem at the heart of the industry's crisis, is encouraging.

"People are looking at that. It's positive," Morgan Stanley's John Mack told The Associated Press in an interview. "We think it's the right thing to do and now we just need to get the details."

The administration announced a program this week to help banks free themselves of so-called toxic assets. These investments have tied up capital and kept them from resuming more normal lending to consumers and businesses.

The plan calls for the administration to partner with private investors, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to buy as much as $1 trillion in toxic assets from banks. But one concern is whether private investors will participate and whether banks would be willing to sell the assets at the reduced prices they will be offered for them.

Bankers described a positive meeting and pledged to work with Obama on restoring the economy's health.

"We want to see the American recovery," said Robert Kelly, of Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy_37/print