Americans for Financial Reform today applauded the introduction of the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act of 2021, legislation that would extend the 36 percent APR interest rate cap on payday and car-title lenders in the Military Lending Act (MLA) to cover all Americans.
AFR sent a letter to Congress in support of H.R. 3332, H.R. 4618, H.R. 4619 and H.R. 4620, and in opposition to H.R. 935.
The creation of the CFPB was a crucial, hard-won victory for the thousands of advocates, activists, allied organizations, and community leaders in AFR’s coalition. On Monday, July 19, these groups and individuals gathered virtually to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the CFPB and celebrate the bureau’s leadership in fighting for a just financial system.
AFR joined a letter to the House of Representatives in support of the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act. The bill would restore the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to provide refunds and equitable relief to victims of consumer fraud and deception, and to stop ongoing misconduct in the marketplace.
On Thursday, July 15, Linda Jun, senior counsel at Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, spoke on a panel about the harms of bank overdraft fees and alternatives to the current system. She was joined by other consumer advocates and representatives from banks and financial technology firms that are creating alternatives to bank overdraft fees. The panel focused on new tools and technologies designed to help consumers avoid overdraft fees while maintaining flexible banking options.
AFREF and MHAction submitted joint comments on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s duty to serve plans and urged the Enterprises to better protect manufactured housing residents from corporate abuses and increase financing opportunities for mission driven owners.
The Securities and Exchange Commission should use the full scope of its authority to increase transparency and reduce hidden risks to investors and markets from the private equity industry, according to a letter from 15 public interest groups.
AFREF alongside 14 other signers submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) raising several abuses from the private equity industry and ways the Commission can directly address them
AFREF submitted a comment to the Federal Reserve on its “Proposed Guidelines for Evaluating Account and Service Requests” urging the Federal Reserve to limit access to its payments systems to well-regulated and well-supervised depository institutions to safeguard rules that protect consumers, ensure the stability of the payments system, and require community reinvestment.
AFREF joined a letter to the Office of Management and Budget in response to their RFI asking for input on how to identify effective methods for assessing whether agency policies, programs, services, processes, and operations equitably serve all eligible individuals and communities, particularly those that are currently and historically underserved.