WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) — US President Barack Obama, warning Wall Street not to forget how it almost caused the financial system to collapse, said "sensible" new rules are needed to tighten oversight and restore confidence in US markets.

"Wall Street seems to maybe have a shorter memory about how close we were to the abyss than I would have expected," Obama said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday at the White House. "All we're doing is cleaning up after the mess that was made."

The administration will unveil its proposal for revamping financial rules today, an effort likely to result in the most sweeping overhaul since the 1930s. Many of the changes will need to be approved by Congress, where jurisdictional and ideological clashes may delay and alter the shape of final legislation. Obama wants to sign the law by year-end, fulfilling a top domestic priority.