AFR
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Commercial banks – the traditional focus of financial regulation – no longer stand at the center of the financial system. Broker-dealers, money market funds, asset managers, and insurance companies have become key actors, with the potential to shake the stability of the whole economy. Join prominent experts, reform advocates, and regulators for a discussion of the “shadow banking” system of market-mediated credit and the steps needed to integrate it into a safer and more sustainable financial system.
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AFR sent a letter to members of Congress urging that they Oppose HR 1105 , the “Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act.” Contrary to its title, this bill is not designed to benefit small business. Instead, it would exempt private equity fund advisors from basic reporting requirements designed to allow regulators to monitor systemic risk in the financial system and protect investors and the public.
“We’ve seen that court challenges are a major element of the [financial] industry’s plan to block strong regulations,” says Marcus Stanley, the policy director of the nonprofit Americans for Financial Reform. “So having a better ideological balance on the court should be very helpful to financial reform.”
“[W]e thank you for your work in drafting an effective rule implementing section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Given that three years have passed since the enactment of the law , we urge you to move quickly to put the final rule in place.”
During an initial consultation period, the SEC received more than 20,000 letters, overwhelmingly in favor of the pay-ratio requirement. Since the Commission issued its proposed rule in September, more than 116,000 individuals and organizations, including Americans for Financial Reform, have submitted letters urging the SEC to stand firm.
Vacancies now “should be easier to fill with people who meet the basic criteria of having a commitment to fulfilling the law,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform… The change in the Senate’s rules come at a time when judges are expected to decide major disputes over provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, ObamaCare and the president’s push on climate change, several observers of the court said.”
More than 100 organizations joined AFR in signing a letter in support of the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act. This crucial piece of legislation would protect homeowners who receive principal reduction modifications from devastating tax consequences is set to expire on December 31, 2013, just as the government’s recent settlement with JP Morgan Chase promises additional principal write downs. Congress must act swiftly to extend this legislation.
“The OCC and FDIC got it right in standing up for borrowers who have been taken advantage of,” said Lisa Donner, AFR’s Executive Director. “Now it’s up to the Federal Reserve to follow the OCC’s and FDIC’s lead with the institutions it regulates.”
“In a brief advisory statement, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has closed a specious, lobbyist-concocted loophole in the regulation of the derivatives markets. By doing so, the Commission has reaffirmed one of the most important and hard-won victories of the Dodd-Frank Act.”
