Banks prepare defense for anti-Wall Street campaigns: WSJ

[May 11, 2015]  (Reuters) - Top executives from the biggest U.S. banks, concerned about anti-Wall Street rhetoric that is already bubbling up on the 2016 campaign trail, are working to push back against the prevailing narrative that "banks are bad", the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Senior executives from seven of the biggest U.S. banks gathered at, or dialed into, a lunchtime meeting held in the Bank of America Tower in New York on March 31, the Journal reported. (http://on.wsj.com/1zVtSmG)

The banks discussed the upcoming election cycle and how they can counteract what they view as false and damaging statements about large banks, the paper said.

The discussion centered on finding ways to highlight the positive role banks play in the economy and the changes they have made since the financial crisis, said the report, which also cited emails reviewed by the paper.

The banks that took part were JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, Citigroup Inc <C.N>, Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N>, Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>, Morgan Stanley <MS.N>, Bank of New York Mellon Corp <BK.N> and State Street Corp <STT.N>.

None of the banks responded immediately to a request for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Avik Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)

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