(12/22/09) -

Americans Think Obama was Right in Calling Wall Street Bankers “Fat Cats”

Four-in-five respondents are personally frustrated with the way the banking industry has behaved over the past two years.

Four-in-five respondents are personally frustrated with the way the banking industry has behaved over the past two years.

A large proportion of Americans blame banks and financial institutions for the global financial crisis, and four-in-five believe U.S. President Barack Obama was right to describe Wall Street bankers as “fat cats”, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,002 American adults, three-in-five respondents (63%) believe banks and financial institutions who took unnecessary risks deserve most of the blame for the global financial crisis,

A majority of respondents feel the same way about big corporations who made the wrong decisions (55%) and governments who did not properly regulate the market (51%). Less than three-in-ten Americans (28%) believe consumers who took on too much debt are mostly responsible.

However, almost half of respondents (47%) believe those consumers who took on too much debt have taken the necessary steps to prevent a new global financial crisis from happening.

Conversely, a majority of Americans feel governments (53%), banks and financial institutions (61%) and big corporations (65%) have not learned their lesson.

What Caused the Crisis?

Almost half of Americans (46%) believe lending to people who could not afford the loans caused the crisis, while just over one third (35%) believe the crisis occurred due to lack of regulation on lending.

Democrats and those living in the Northeast are more likely to side with the argument that lack of regulation led to the crisis, while Republicans and those living in the South and West are more likely to point the finger at people who could not afford the loans.

Salaries and Regulations

Four-in-five Americans (82%) believe the salaries and compensation packages of executives at companies that have received emergency loans from the federal government should be capped, and three-in-five (62%) feel the same way about executives at every company currently operating in the United States.

Half of Americans (51%) believe the financial regulations currently in place in the United States are too loose, while 16 per cent describe them as correct, and 11 per cent say they are too tight.

Obama and the Bankers

Earlier this month, in an interview with CBS News, U.S. President Barack Obama declared that he did not run for office “to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street” and added that people might be “a little frustrated” with their attitude towards the crisis.

After watching a video featuring Obama’s remarks, 83 per cent of respondents believe the President’s was right to refer to Wall Street bankers as “fat cats”, and an equal proportion feel personally frustrated with the way the banking industry as a whole has behaved in the United States over the course of the past two years.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+604 647 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com