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Letter to Regulators: Letter Commenting on the SEC’s Proposal on Money Market Reforms

AFREF sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission supporting its proposals to reform Money Market Mutual Funds to better protect investors and the financial system. Money Market Mutual Funds have now been bailed out by policymakers twice in the last 12 years and benefit from paying higher interest rates above bank deposits without being subject to the same investor protection and safeguards as them.

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Letters to Regulators: Modernization of Beneficial Ownership Reporting

AFREF sent a comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting the SEC’s proposals to modernize the reporting of beneficial ownership by including cash-settled derivatives in large position reports over Schedules 13D and 13G. We also urge the SEC to clarify its definition of who should constitute a “group” under the proposal as it should only apply to the sharing of material nonpublic information related to not yet disclosed large positions instead of efforts to improve the long-term corporate governance of companies.

Financial Policy Stymied as Biden Faces Confirmation Struggles

“There’s nothing happening to reverse the Trump deregulatory agenda at the Fed or to think about what the Fed ought to be doing on financial regulation,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy group that represents unions and civil-rights and consumer groups.

In The News: Banks change their tack in navigating the culture war

“When we talk about the [North Carolina] bathroom bills of 2016 and 2017 compared to now, my first response is, well, they haven’t felt that the public pressure that they would be feeling to do something is worth more than the financial benefit they have from doing nothing,” said Mandla Deskins, an advocacy manager for Take on Wall Street, an activist coalition that pushes for financial reform. “That is the calculation that I would assume banks are always making,” Deskins added, “because it’s not like they have some long-standing position against hate.”

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Letters to Regulators: Letter to the SEC on Stock Buybacks

AFREF led a letter with thirteen organizational signatories commenting in support of a rule proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would significantly increase the transparency of stock buybacks.  A central component of the proposed rule is daily disclosures of stock buybacks.  (Current disclosure requirements are only quarterly.)  In the comment letter, we commend the SEC on the proposed rule and make recommendations to further strengthen protections against market manipulation and insider trading that we believe would improve long-term financial stability and growth.

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Letters to Regulators: Letter to the SEC on Corporate Governance Implications of Securities Lending

AFREF sent a letter commenting on the Security and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule to increase the transparency and efficiency of the securities lending market. Having already commented in support of the proposed rule, we submitted an additional comment to address its corporate governance implications. The securities lending market—as it pertains to equity shares—has important corporate governance implications, as investors cannot vote shares on loan. In our comment, we recommend the Commission enhance the proposed rule’s public disclosures to give investors the tools they need to ensure the securities lending practices of asset managers and retail brokers do not interfere with investors’ role in corporate governance.