FACTBOX: Obama weighs in on Wall Street's crisis

(Reuters) - As U.S. financial markets grappled with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama discussed his ideas for stabilizing the market and for overhauling a Wall Street regulatory structure that many see as outdated.

Following are some highlights of Obama's interview with Reuters.

WHY HE THINKS A FINANCIAL OVERHAUL IS NEEDED

"After World War II, when banks were the primary source of finance, we put in place things like the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp) ... Banks now are just a fraction of the capital that is flowing worldwide and through Wall Street."

"So if you talk to the regulators right now or (Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson or (Federal Reserve Chairman Ben) Bernanke, one of their challenges is they're making it up as they go along. Each problem ends up requiring a patchwork solution."

HOW QUICKLY WOULD HE MOVE FORWARD ON A PLAN?

"I think we have to move on it very quickly because my suspicion is the deteriorating confidence in the credit markets, in the financial markets, is not going to immediately bounce back."

"My hope is that the financial markets stabilize enough over the next several weeks, that we can get through the election, get into a new administration and a new Congress and we can present a comprehensive plan that is not born out of panic but that's born out of the needs of a globalized economy."

ON REPUBLICAN JOHN MCCAIN'S PLANS

"I haven't seen his (plan). The advantage I think that voters have when it comes to my plans they've been out there for over a year. This is not something I said in response to today's crisis."

ON THE SHORT-TERM PROBLEMS, HOUSING MARKET

"Not only do we have to create the new regulatory structures, but we're also going to have to see whether the housing market has, in fact, bottomed out."

"If the housing market continues to decline even after investors and lenders have absorbed significant losses and we've seen so many foreclosures, then we may have to take some additional steps. But it's premature to get into exactly what those steps would be."

HOW HE WOULD PICK A TREASURY SECRETARY

"I have a group of economic advisers right now, people like (former Federal Reserve chairman) Paul Volcker, (former Treasury secretaries) Bob Rubin, Larry Summers and others. Many of those folks would not serve as treasury secretary. They've done their service. They want to move on."

"But having a group that has worked at the highest levels of finance, who understand both the private sector but also understand the levers that are available to government in dealing with these issues, who are familiar with managing financial crises, those advisers I think will help vet and guide my selection."

(Reporting by Caren Bohan, editing by Patricia Wilson and John O'Callaghan)