NEWS

President Obama’s speech calling on Wall Street to support financial reforms to prevent another crisis was a “great speech,” CPIC Chairman James Chanos said in a CNBC interview.

“There was a little bit of admonishment, but there was also the olive branch and a lot of common sense: ‘Let’s get this done.’ So far, I think Wall Street is understanding that reform is going to happen no matter what it does,” Chanos said.

“What the American people want, and what the markets want, is a fair and level playing field where the rules are clearly elucidated and the referees are competent, and we know the game is not rigged,” he said.

Chanos made similar points in a Today Show interview (April 22, “Can Finance Industry be Fixed?”).

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, more than 35 leaders in finance and academia, including Chanos, outlined eight provisions the group believes should be included to prevent another financial crisis. These provisions include: elimination of a perpetual system of government-sponsored corporate bailouts financed by the government or private industry; higher capital requirements for banks of at least eight percent; a requirement that all standardized derivatives be transacted over exchanges and central clearinghouses with pricing transparency; and, mandatory separation of the roles of board chairman and CEO for regulated financial institutions.