Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that Wall Street's anger toward President Obama is "inexplicable," though possibly fueled by resentment after the administration engineered a massive bailout of the financial industry.
"They react to what is pretty modest, common sense observations about the system as if they are deep affronts to the dignity of their profession. And I don't understand why they are so sensitive," Geithner said at a forum hosted by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute.
The administration has frequently been at odds with the financial industry. Most recently, Obama stepped into a debate over debit-card fees, saying in an interview on ABC that banks "don't have some inherent right just to, you know, get a certain amount of profit."
The comments followed Bank of America Corp.'s decision last week to levy a $5 monthly fee on most customers who make purchases with debit cards.
Geithner Wednesday said the industry remained resentful following the financial bailout.
"People resent when they need help. It's a natural thing. They resent the huge amount of public anger they have been subjected to because they caused the crisis," Geithner said.
The Treasury secretary also touched on the debt crisis in Europe, saying euro-zone leaders need to move faster.
"They are moving too slowly, they are moving not as fast as markets move in today's environment, and they have to do more to build more confidence that they are going to act to hold this thing together," Geithner said.
And he said economic growth in the U.S. would be slower if Congress does not act on policies to spur growth.
