Letters to Congress: Over 70 Groups Oppose the TABS Act
AFR, Center for Responsible Lending and Consumer Federation of America led a letter to Congress opposing a package of bills that undermine the CFPB.
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Letters to Regulators: FTC Should Update its Green Guides to Prevent Greenwashing in Investment and Financial Services, Particularly for Carbon Offsets-Related Claims
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) submitted two letters in response to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s request for comment on updates to its ‘Green Guides’ for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. The Guides were last revised in 2012. AFREF joined a coalition
News Release: Repeal of Trump-Era Guidance Marks Key Step to Curbing Systemic Risk
Regulators should move promptly following the repeal of Trump-era guidance that hamstrung the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to research, identify and designate potential new systemic risks, according to Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund.
News Release: Federal Housing Finance Agency to Codify Collection of Mortgage Applicants’ Language Preference
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) proposed rule to codify several existing measures to ensure a fair and accessible housing finance system will require housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to collect and report information about mortgage applicants’ language preference, according to Americans for Financial Reform Language Access Task Force members.
News Release: Consumer Advocacy Groups Oppose Weak Stablecoin Bill
A new stablecoins bill proposal being discussed today in Congress would fail to adequately address the many risks that the industry posed to consumers, investors and financial markets, according to Americans for Financial Reform, Demand Progress and a dozen consumer protection groups. The bill is a focus of today’s hearing held by the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion.
Letters to Regulators: Letter to the FTC to Ban Non-Compete Clauses
AFREF joined a letter led by the Open Markets Institute and supported by 50 labor and public interest groups urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ban non-compete clauses as well as functionally equivalent restraints such as training repayment agreement provisions (or TRAPs), for all workers.
Letters to Regulators: Letter to HFSC on Stablecoin Bill
AFREF joined partner organizations to express concerns about the grave risks stablecoins pose to households and our financial system and urged the Committee to take the utmost care to not advance legislation that will increase these risks by expanding the reach of stablecoins without providing adequate protections. The letter highlights many elements that make the bill inefficient in providing adequate protections for consumers, investors, and financial markets.
Letters to Regulators: Letter to FHA on 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program
AFREF joined partner organizations to comment on the FHA’s 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program, a program that provides critical financing for low- and moderate-income people seeking to purchase a home in need of repairs. The comment letter details a number of changes that would increase participation in the program.
Blog: Why the CFPB Can’t Let a Trump-appointed Judge Gut the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a notice of appeal in its redlining lawsuit against Townstone Financial and its owner Barry Sturner as part of an ongoing case. In 2020, the CFPB accused Sturner and Townstone, a nonbank mortgage lender, of violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by discouraging prospective Black applicants from applying for their mortgages. Unfortunately, in February 2023, Judge Franklin Valerrama of the U.S.
Blog: Private Equity Can Kill: Help Us Fight Wall Street’s Deadly Power in Nursing Homes
Unbeknownst to most people with loved ones in nursing homes, it’s often nearly impossible to determine if the facility you’ve entrusted your family member to is owned by a private equity firm – an ownership structure that has been shown to result in worse health outcomes for patients, at greater cost. Within the past two decades, the once-obscure private equity industry has ballooned in size from $1 trillion in 2008 to nearly $4.5 trillion in 2021.