Barack Obama says Wall Street looking for 'easy way out'

Barack Obama today accused Wall Street of seeking an "easy" way out of the financial crisis.

The president went on the attack after US stocks plunged following the announcement of his latest bank rescue plan.

Within hours of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlining a $2 trillion plan to stabilise the banking sector, stocks fell sharply.

The Dow Jones closed at a three-month low as investors showed their lack of enthusiasm. Many claimed there was a lack of detail in the plan.

But Obama warned Wall Street bankers would have little choice but to accept what he is proposing, describing the plan as "tough love".

"Wall Street I think is hoping for an easy out on this, and there is no easy out," he said during an interview for the ABC show Nightline last night.

"You've got a set of banks that have not been as transparent as we need... And we're going to have to hold out the Band-Aid a little bit, and go ahead and just be clear about some of the losses that have been made because until we do that, we're not going to be able to attract private capital into the market place."

Obama, who has promised a clampdown on bonuses for CEOs, yesterday secured Senate approval for a slimmed-down $838 billion economic stimulus package.