Obama to urge tougher rules for Wall Street

* Seeks to tap into widespread anger at financial sector

* White House increasingly optimistic on reform bill

* Venue for speech is historic hall at Cooper Union

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will urge sweeping new rules for Wall Street on Thursday in a speech in New York that will seek to build on growing momentum for legislation to overhaul the U.S. regulatory structure.

Tapping into widespread public anger at Wall Street over the economic fallout from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Obama will call on big banks to get behind a Democratic package of reforms that appears headed for a Senate vote next week.

He will attempt to put pressure on Republicans to support the bill amid signs their opposition to it has softened.

"Financial reform is something that is borne out of an economic collapse that started on Wall Street and spread to Main Street America very quickly," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

"The president will remind the American people and the Senate what we all have at stake as we move forward, and hopefully get something passed out of the Senate and quickly to his desk," Gibbs added.

Whether the bill passes or not, Democrats view financial reform as an issue that will help them in the November congressional elections. The legislation appears to have gotten a boost from the recent fraud charges brought against Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs.

Obama will deliver his speech at the historic Great Hall at Cooper Union college in downtown Manhattan, the venue for several important addresses by leading Americans, including Abraham Lincoln who argued there against the expansion of slavery in a speech that helped assure his presidential victory.

Obama spoke at Cooper Union in March 2008 in a campaign speech in which he outlined principles for financial reform.

On Thursday, he will address an audience of about 700 people, including financial industry leaders, members of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, local officials and Cooper Union students and faculty.

OVERSIGHT TO HEDGE FUNDS

Obama will tell Wall Street to "join him in the effort to reform the financial system -- not fight it" and urge lawmakers to pass the Senate bill, a White House official said.

The 1,336-page bill authored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd would bring new oversight to hedge funds and derivatives while cracking down on risky bank trading and putting in place protections for consumers of financial products.

It would also establish a system for unwinding troubled financial firms to prevent a repeat of catastrophes such as the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and the near-failure of insurance giant AIG (AIG.N).

Democrats hold a 59-41 vote majority over Republicans in the Senate, leaving them one vote short of the number needed to overcome procedural hurdles to the bill's passage.

Obama therefore needs at least one Republican vote. The White House has signaled increasing optimism about garnering Republican support and is targeting several moderate Republican senators, including Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine.

The House of Representatives approved a bill in December that called for the most sweeping regulatory changes since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The House bill embraced most of a comprehensive package of financial reform proposals introduced by Obama in mid-2009.

The Senate version would have to be reconciled in joint committee with the House before it goes to Obama for his signature and becomes law.

Few, if any, chief executives of the big U.S. banks will be in the Cooper Union audience.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) executives, including Chief Risk Officer Barry Zubrow, will attend Obama's speech, but Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is speaking in Chicago, a spokesman said.

Morgan Stanley (MS.N) said that its chief financial officer Ruth Porat and its chief operating officer Thomas Nides are expected to go to the speech but there are no plans for chief executive James Gorman or Chairman John Mack to attend. Bank of America (BAC.N) said that chief risk officer Bruce Thompson will be there but chief executive Brian Moynihan won't attend because of a long-standing scheduling conflict.

Goldman Sachs (GS.N) didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment, Citigroup (C.N) declined to comment and an official at Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC.N) said they are not aware of anyone from the bank attending.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)