Obama tells banks ‘we want our money back’

WASHINGTON — President Obama, declaring “we want our money back and we’re going to get it,” said Thursday banks have a responsibility to make U.S. taxpayers whole for the financial-sector bailout and should pay a proposed tax by rolling back big bonuses.

“Instead of sending a phalanx of lobbyists to fight this proposal or employing an army of lawyers and accountants to help evade the fee, I suggest you might want to consider simply meeting your responsibilities,” Obama said in remarks at the White House.

The President, who said his resolve in recouping taxpayer funds has been stiffened by reports of “obscene bonuses,” formally unveiled his plan for a new tax on large financial firms. The tax, which the White House calls a “Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee,” is expected to raise $117 billion over about 12 years, and $90 billion over the next 10 years. Around 60 percent of the revenue will come from the 10 largest financial firms.

The proposal, which excludes small banks and automakers that accepted funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, reflects lingering public anger toward Wall Street and mounting unease over 🌟the billions in bonuses that financial firms are expected t🧸o dole out this year.

The banking i༒ndustry strongly opposes the planned fee, calling it a political exercise that will stifle the economic recovery and ultimately be borne by consumers.

But the White House, which needs Congressional backing to enact the fee, says the fee is reasonable because many firms contributed to the financial crisis and all benefited from the government’s large intervention.

If approved by la🔴wmakers, the fee would go into effect June 30 and last at least 10 years. It would amount to 0.15% of total assets minus high-quality capital, such as common stock, and disclosed and retained earnings. The tax would hit around 50 banks, insurance companies and large broker-dealers. Of those, about 35 would be U.S. companies and 10 to 15 would be U.S. subsidiaries of foreign financial firms.

Amid double🍷-digit unemployment and public outrage over bonuses,✨ the chasm between Washington and Wall Street has been on display in recent days. On Wednesday, top executives were grilled by a panel looking into the origins of the financial crisis.

Still, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods isn’t so sure the administration’s proposed bank tax will come to fruition. “In the end, we are somewhat skeptical that Congress will pass such a tax,” analyst Brian Gardner wrote Thursday.