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AFR Press Statement: President Obama’s Recess Appointment of Richard Cordray
January 4, 2012 – 11:02 am | Comments Off

Consumers won today when President Obama defied Wall Street interests to make a recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. President Obama stood with consumers and families in making this crucial decision.

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AFR in the News: Obama To The Rescue On Federal Student Loans, But What About Private Loans?
November 4, 2011 – 5:40 pm

Obama To The Rescue On Federal Student Loans, But What About Private Loans? – Eva Pereira (Forbes)

“The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) aims to make the education lending market much more transparent with its KnowBeforeYouOwe project, but for those already knee deep private debt, there is little recourse. Several distressed borrowers shared their private loan struggles on a recent call organized by the Americans for Financial Reform, a consumer rights coalition.”

AFR Letter: BofA/Merril Lynch Transfer Poses Risk to Taxpayers
November 4, 2011 – 1:58 pm

AFR sent a letter to the Federal Reserve and FDIC on the reported transfer of the Merrill Lynch derivatives book to Bank of America’s depository subsidiary, which could expose taxpayers to substantial additional risks.”

AFR in the News: Private Student Loan Debts Highlight Need for Fully Operational CFPB
November 4, 2011 – 10:50 am

AFR in the News: Private Student Loan Debts Highlight Need for Fully Operational CFPB
The Institute for College Access & Success and Americans for Financial Reform hosted a conference call with reporters and bloggers on Tuesday, …

AFR and CFA Letter: Urge to CFTC to Impose Strong Business Conduct Standards
November 3, 2011 – 2:14 pm

AFR wrote a letter to the CFTC urging them to maintain strong business conduct standards for derivatives dealers when dealing with municipalities and pension funds.

AFR Press Statement: Senate Banking Committee hearing on Empowering and Protecting Servicemembers, Veterans and their Families in the Consumer Financial Marketplace
November 3, 2011 – 11:01 am

We applaud Senator Johnson for holding this important hearing. In 2006, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a “Report on Predatory Lending Practices Directed at Members of the Armed Forces and Their Dependents”, which concluded that “predatory lending undermines military readiness, harms the morale of troops and their families, and adds to the cost of fielding an all volunteer fighting force.” In surveys conducted by DoD last year, personal finances ranked second on the list of causes of stress for servicemembers, second only to career concerns. Financial problems are now the top cause of revocation of military security clearances.

CFA Press Release: Oil Speculation on Wall Street Devastates Household Budgets on Main Street
November 3, 2011 – 7:24 am

Dr. Mark Cooper, CFA Director of Research, submitted the following statement for the record of the hearing on Excessive Speculation and Compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, being conducted by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, along with CFA’s recent report entitled Excessive Speculation and Oil Price Shock Recessions: A Case of Wall Street ‘Déjà vu All Over Again.’