Category Archives: Featured Story

Ten Years of Dodd-Frank: What We Need Next to Create a Resilient, Equitable, and Sustainable Economy

To mark the tenth anniversary of President Obama signing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law, Americans for Financial Reform hosted a series of virtual events asking what we have learned, and what changes we think are needed now to protect consumers, uproot systemic racism, and transform finance so that it contributes to a resilient, equitable and sustainable economy.

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photo of Wall Street sign in NYC | Photo by Chris Li on Unsplash

In The News: A Majority of Democratic and Republican Voters Want Tougher Wall Street Regulations (Vox)

“I think really the most striking thing about this polling has been its consistency,” Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, told Vox. “The experience of the crisis was a really deep and serious one for people. It may have faded into memory of some policy makers and some regulators, unfortunately, but it has not faded in people’s memory because the experience was long-lasting for people.”

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photo of Wall Street sign in NYC | Photo by Chris Li on Unsplash

New Report: Where They Stand On Financial Reform

Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of the Congress that wrapped up work in 2018 voted again and again for bills pushed by the bank lobby that endanger financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending. The change in control of the House and a heightened awareness of the dangers posed by these actions provide an opportunity to see what changes in the 116th Congress.

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Lawmakers Back DOJ Crackdown on Illegal Use of Bank Payment Systems

“Department enforcement plays a critical role in ensuring banks and payment processors meet [their] legal obligations,” the lawmakers say in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. “Unfortunately, recent cases demonstrate the seriousness of the consequences when those obligations are not met. Accordingly, we urge the Department to enforce vigorously applicable laws pertaining to payment fraud, money-laundering, and other illegal payments…”

Forward March: A Better-than-Expected Year in the Fight for Financial Reform

“Though small compared to Wall Street and the right, groups like Americans for Financial Reform and Better Markets show up extensively in the comments on the Volcker Rule. In the final rule, there are hundreds of references to the detailed comment letter the Occupy the SEC group sent…” The work of these outside groups “is a major piece of what makes solid final rules happen.”

Really Small Wall Street Tax Could Make a Really Big Difference

Congress will soon be back from recess – and back to gnashing its teeth over the budget and the various important things that, too many in that branch of government now contend, our country can no longer afford to do. They could expand their sense of the possible by considering a source of revenue they have so far largely ignored – a small tax on sales of stocks, bonds, and complex financial instruments.