Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders did not hold back at a New York event on Jan. 5, and once again harshly criticized the financial industry along with his party rival Hillary Clinton, whose Wall Street ties the Vermont senator claims are far too cozy.

Speaking at The Town Hall venue in midtown Manhattan, Sanders referenced the so-called Glass-Steagall Act, which had limited commercial bank securities and activities within commercial banks and securities firms until it was dismantled in the 1990s.

"My opponent, Secretary Clinton, says that Glass-Steagall would not have prevented the financial crisis because shadow banks like AIG and Lehman Brothers, not big commercial banks, were the real culprits" of the 2008 financial crisis, the socialist senator explained. "Secretary Clinton is wrong."

Sanders also picked on Clinton's husband and "secret weapon," Bill Clinton, during whose administration the Glass-Steagall legislation was repealed, suggesting the former president was part of an "establishment" culture.

"My opponent says that as a senator she told bankers to 'cut it out' and end their destructive behavior," Sanders said. "But, in my view, establishment politicians are the ones who need to 'cut it out.' The reality is that Congress doesn't regulate Wall Street. Wall Street and their lobbyists regulate Congress."

Overall, the presidential candidate reiterated the bleak view he holds of the U.S. financial sector in general and promised to overhaul the system if he were to move into the White House come 2017, NPR noted.

"The greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the very fabric of our nation," Sanders charged.

"And here is a New Year's resolution that I will keep if elected president, and that is, if Wall Street does not end its greed, we will end it for them. Our goal must be to create a financial system and an economy that works for all of our people, not just a handful of billionaires," the Vermont senator insisted.