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A Wall Street street sign

Blog Post: Wall Street Throws the Kitchen Sink at Bank Capital Proposals

We should be clear about the motives of the banks’ strong opposition to the bank capital proposals released by federal regulators on July 27. The proposals will make it harder for bank executives to pursue riskier short-term financial gains and mobilize capital for their own benefit by paying excessive dividends and buying back shares. It is that simple, and any debate that does not include this fact is disingenuous.

Wall Street sign and a stoplight turned red - Photo by Roberto Júnior on Unsplash

Blog Post: Bank Lobbyist Nonsense About Capital Rules

The famously gruff Volcker had no patience for the arguments of the big-bank lobby against higher capital requirements and other regulations just after the 2008 financial crisis. An equally fitting word is “nonsense,” a favorite of Anat Admati, an economist at Stanford University, who has also applied it repeatedly since 2008.

Letters to Regulators: NCUA Budget for 2024-2025 Should Account for Climate-Related Financial Risk to Credit Unions and Consumer Protection Needs

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund led and submitted a comment letter, to the NCUA on the agency’s draft 2024-2025 budget. The letter was endorsed by Green America, the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, the National Fair Housing Alliance, New York Communities

News Release: Federal Home Loan Bank System to Undergo Major Public Benefit Reforms in Modern Era

Washington, D.C. — Upcoming reforms to the Federal Home Loan Bank System will provide greater and more equitable public benefits under a detailed roadmap released last week by their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The welcome reform agenda is the result of national engagement of stakeholders on FHLBanks, for-profit entities that receive significant indirect public subsidies.

News Release: More than 100 Organizations Agree: Rein in Big Banks’ Use of Forced Arbitration

Washington, D.C. – More than 100 consumer protection, civil rights and organized labor organizations filed a comment asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to create a rule to restore the right of all Americans to decide to file a case in court rather than be forced into arbitration by big banks and other financial services corporations.

Congressional Testimony: Renita Marcellin, AFR’s Advocacy and Legislative Director, Testifies Before the HFSC, Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee

On November 7th, AFR’s Advocacy and Legislative Director Renita Marcellin testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy supporting the Basel Endgame capital proposals. These capital proposals work to build a more resilient financial system and enable banks to better support the