Open Invitation to Wall St. and Protesters: Let’s Talk

Many have observed that there has been very little interaction or communication between the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators and the major financial players they are addressing.  The gulf between the two at times appears so wide, they barely seem to speak the same language.

We took note at “World News”  last week when CitiGroup CEO Vikram Pandit reportedly told a conference that he would be happy to talk to the Wall Street protesters, calling their sentiments “completely understandable.”

“Trust has been broken between financial institutions and the citizens of the U.S.,” Pandit said, according to Bloomberg. “That is Wall Street’s job, to reach out to Main Street and rebuild that trust.”

And we took note again yesterday, when Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf told reporters he understands the “angst and anger” expressed by the protesters, according to the Associated Press.

But is there any common ground to be found?

To facilitate a productive conversation, we’ve invited the CEOs of 18 big banks and financial firms for a round-table discussion with Occupy Wall Street sympathizers, to be moderated by an ABC News anchor.

We’ll keep you posted on who has accepted our invitation, and who has declined.

In the meantime, we want to hear from you. What would you like to ask the banks or the protesters at our round-table? What issues and questions would you like to see addressed?  Send in your questions in the comments section below and we will make sure they are addressed.