Obama to meet with bank CEOs

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Obama will meet with the chief executives of several big banks next week, in an effort to help spur greater lending to consumers and small businesses, two senior White House officials told CNN Wednesday.

The president is also expected to discuss the sweeping financial regulatory reform package that the administration is currently trying to push through Congress during Monday's scheduled meeting.

Officials said that the list of attendees has not yet been finalized, but that it is likely that executives from some of the nation's biggest banks will be present.

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The extent to which banks have been willing to lend has remained a focal point for Washington, after the U.S. government pumped billions into the banking sector over the past year in an effort to get the economy back on track.

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Consumers and small businesses in particular contend that loans are still tough to come by. Banks maintain that they are lending even as the appetite for new loans has dropped off.

News of Monday's meeting comes just a day after President Obama proposed redirecting a certain portion of bailout money left over from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help create jobs and provide aid to Main Street consumers and businesses.

--Ed Henry, CNN's senior White House correspondent, contributed to this report  

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