President intent on reining in bankers

President Barack Obama said job losses were "bottoming out" and the United States economy looked to be growing, even as he warned against cutting off Government aid "so soon that the recovery doesn't take flight".

Speaking one year after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings crippled the economy, Obama voiced confidence that his plan to overhaul regulation to forestall another crisis would pass Congress this year.

He vowed "to do everything I can" to fight banking industry efforts to kill his proposal for a financial products safety agency and stuck by his call to make the Federal Reserve responsible for ensuring the stability of the system.

"I'm very optimistic about us getting a set of rules in place that prevent the kind of crisis that we're seeing from happening again," Obama said.

He opposed limits on pay to financial industry executives, even in the face of public outrage over huge bonuses and salaries Wall St companies are still handing out.

"Why is it that we're going to cap executive compensation for Wall St bankers but not Silicon Valley entrepreneurs or NFL football players?" he said.

The President ticked off a number of signs the economy is on the mend, including stronger exports and a pickup in manufacturing. Payroll cuts had also tapered off, he said, adding that "we could start seeing some positive job growth".

Obama said the economy was still fragile and cautioned against prematurely removing Government programmes aimed at supporting financial markets and boosting demand.

"I don't think we're out of the woods yet," he said. "What we have to be careful about is taking the crutches away from the patient too early."

He said that was the mistake the United States made during the Great Depression.

The comments followed a speech in New York where he pushed for "common sense" regulations to avoid another market meltdown. Speaking at Federal Hall in Wall St, Obama chastised the industry for still engaging in "reckless behaviour", "quick kills" and "bloated bonuses".

- BLOOMBERG