New York:
US President Barack Obama on Monday warned the Wall Street companies that they should mend their ways as his administration would no longer "tolerate" their reckless behaviour that would put a gradually recovering US economy at risk again.
Emphasising that "normalcy cannot lead to complacency", Obama in his address to the Wall Street here said that some in the financial industry are "misreading" an improvement in the
US economy.
"Instead of learning the lessons of Lehman and the crisis from which we are still recovering, they are choosing to ignore them. They do so not just at their own peril, but at our nation's," he said.
"So I want them to hear my words: We will not go back to the days of reckless behaviour and unchecked excess at the heart of this crisis, where too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses," Obama warned.
The President said that the companies on the Wall Street could not resume taking risks "without regard for consequences" and expect US taxpayers to bail them out again.
Observing that history can't be allowed to repeat itself, Obama said there is need for strong rules to guard against the kind of "systemic risks" experienced in the past.