Public unfamiliar with Wall Street bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A big majority of Americans are unfamiliar with the sweeping overhaul of financial rules that was headed to final approval in Congress on Thursday, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs online poll.

The poll found 38 percent of Americans had never heard of the overhaul and 33 percent had heard of it but knew almost nothing about the legislation, which tightens regulations on the financial industry in an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Another 18 percent said they knew "a little bit" about the measure, which would lead to the broadest overhaul of financial rules since the Great Depression.

The Ipsos poll found 3 percent were very familiar with the legislation, and 8 percent were somewhat familiar.

Of those who knew about the overhaul, about one-third said they did not know enough to say what sort of impact it would have on the economy, spending, investments and financial stability.

President Barack Obama, who proposed the reforms more than a year ago, hopes to sign them into law next week after the Senate gives final approval. Republicans largely opposed the measure.

Other polls have shown that voters' views of the reform fall largely along party lines, suggesting that financial regulation is unlikely to be a major issue at the midterm elections in November.

The questions were included in an online Ipsos survey of 1,008 adults conducted July 8-11. Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online polls.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)