On Saturday, President Barack Obama emphasized the need to develop a new federal agency in order to champion consumer rights against predatory lenders and put into effect rules governing credit firms.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said: “We can now say that we have stopped our economic freefall. But we also know that stopping the bleeding isn't nearly enough.”

The US leader continued, “To protect our economy and people from another market meltdown, our government needs to fundamentally reform the rules governing financial firms and markets to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

Obama also highlighted the need for clear rules which can be properly implemented, and said his proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency could do just that.

Obama while remembering the trip to New York this week to address Wall Street bosses, warned executives that complacency can’t be created by a return to normalcy. 

He said: “The United States cannot allow the thirst for reckless schemes that produce quick profits and fat executive bonuses to override the security of our entire financial system.” 

On Monday, Congress was called by Obama, a year after Lehman Brothers failed, to act this year on regulatory reforms, which he specified as the most sweeping bid to tame industry over-exuberance since the Great Depression.

Apart from this, he also clarified way before the G20 summit in Pittsburgh that he will urge global powers to do more to control financial industry abuses.

Obama said: “Washington needs to continue working with world leaders to strengthen financial regulations to ensure we never again find ourselves in the precarious situation we found ourselves in just one year ago.”