NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Later this morning, President Obama is expected to publicly give a thumb's up to a message that former Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker has been saying for a year: Let's limits the big banks.

Volcker, an economic adviser to Obama, is set to join the president Thursday in announcing measures to narrow the "size and scope" of banks and their investment activities, according to a senior administration official.

Details were scarce, but Obama is expected to propose higher capital requirements for some financial products like derivatives, preventing commercial banks from trading for their accounts and limiting or preventing bank investments and ownership in hedge funds, sources said.

The proposals are mostly aimed at the nation's largest banks including J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500).

The significance of the announcement is that the new limits, particularly limiting banks involvement in hedge funds and bank trading, are expected to go further at limiting bank activity than regulatory reform efforts working their way through Congress.

However, Congress would still have to pass legislation enacting such proposals.

"The political climate for the mega banks is getting worse by the day," said Concept Capital Washington Research Group analyst Jaret Seiberg, in a report to clients. "For the mega banks, this is a horrible political position and it is a situation that leads to onerous legislation."