Banking shares up after Obama says he does not want to punish banks

Shares in Barclays rose more than 4% this morning to become the FTSE 100's biggest gainer after President Obama loosened his hard stance on banks.

Shares in Barclays were up 11.5p, or 4.31%, at 278.35p.

In his State of the Union speech yesterday, Obama said that he does not want to punish banks. However, he added that he would reject any financial reform bill that is too weak.

"Look, I am not interested in punishing banks. I'm interested in protecting our economy. A strong, healthy financial market makes it possible for businesses to access credit and create new jobs. It channels the savings of families into investments that raise incomes. But that can only happen if we guard against the same recklessness that nearly brought down our entire economy," he said.

Shares in Lloyds were up 1.8p, or 3.56%, at 52.66p and shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) were up 1.04p, or 3.15%, at 34.03p.

Source:guardian.co.uk/