AFREF and the National Housing Law Project submitted a comment to the FHFA in support of their proposed revisions to the Suspended Counterparty Program.
Americans for Financial Reform, the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the Center for Responsible Lending held a press call on Wednesday, Sept. 13, to preview one of the most important cases coming before the Supreme Court this term: CFPB v CFSA, a constitutional challenge to the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Oct. 3.
New merger guidelines should confront the powerful and often insidious role played by Wall Street private equity in fostering monopolization across the American economy, according to a letter submitted by Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. The letter, sent to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, outlines concrete steps that authorities can take to combat the anti-competitive influence that private equity buyouts have had on industries as diverse as health care, retailing, fast food, and automotive services.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund sent a letter commending the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice for developing a robust, accessible update to the merger guidelines
Americans for Financial Reform sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee supporting the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023. The Credit Card Competition Act will introduce much needed competition in a captured market and benefit consumers.
Increased capital requirements in the Fed, FDIC, and OCC’s Large Bank proposal strengthen the banks’ ability to withstand stresses that would otherwise imperil their financial viability and hurt depositors, customers and the economy. Robust capital levels prevent financial crises that have vastly disproportionate impacts on Black, LatinX and other underserved communities. AFR strongly urged the agencies to move forward on these proposals as more well-capitalized banks are better able to provide credit to customers and communities, advancing economic justice and helping the economy to work better for everyone.
“We strongly disagree that new capital requirements will undermine credit availability,” said Alexa Philo, senior policy analyst, Americans for Financial Reform, after Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D.-Mass, asked whether the new rules could protect the availability of lending in a downturn.
AFR sent a letter in opposition to four legislative proposals that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce is scheduled to consider at its September 14th Full Committee Markup. These bills’ amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) would undermine workers’ retirement security and are part of a broader political campaign against common sense investment practices. The campaign seeks to force financial actors to ignore a slew of financial risks regardless of the consequences for workers’ retirement security and the integrity of our financial system.
“Based on terms granted to similarly rated borrowers, and on our analysis of Bloomberg data on recent transactions, Simon & Schuster would have to pay interest rates above 9 percent,” wrote Andrew Park, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform. “That would cost the publisher nearly $100 million, about 40 percent of operating income in 2022, on interest alone. In raw financial terms, the transaction will weaken Simon & Schuster the moment it closes, never mind what KKR does as an owner.”
Carter Dougherty, Americans for Financial Reform communications director, says the size and reach of the private equity industry’s financial influence is having an impact on the housing market. “Private equity firms have assembled big real estate empires, and that’s one of the things driving housing prices in this country,” he explains. “Private equities buy a large number of homes in a certain area, and they have the financial muscle to muscle out homeowners who want to buy for the first time or they raise rents on people who end up renting from them,” Dougherty added.