All posts by team

Federal reserve board

News Release: Fed Stress Tests Unleash Bank Capital Distributions at Expense of Financial Stability

The Federal Reserve has announced the results of its 2021 bank stress tests.  Since then, these results have led a steady parade of the largest banks in the country to announce dramatic increases in dividends.  The stress tests will also enable greater share buybacks and other capital distributions by banks. This will enrich senior executives and large shareholders, while putting financial stability at risk.

A pair of hands writing on paper with a pen

Letters to Regulators: Letter Urging Financial Regulators to Consider Fair Lending Risks in Use of Artificial Intelligence

AFREF and 22 organizations submitted comments in response to the regulators’ Request for Information and Comment on Financial Institutions’ Use of Artificial Intelligence, including Machine Learning, urging the financial regulators to consider fair lending risks of using artificial intelligence and machine learning and enact safeguards to prevent disproportionate adverse impacts from the use of AI/ML models.

Blog Post: SPAC fantasies unravel for electric truck company Lordstown Motors

Lordstown Motors was supposed to be a promising electric vehicle startup backed by General Motors that would help revolutionize low-emissions vehicles while also revitalizing America’s “Rust Belt”. Instead, many of its promises, exploiting the loopholes in the SPAC model, were soon found to be untrue, reiterating the important changes that need to be made to the business model of companies taken public through SPACs.

sign for the CFPB outside a building

Joint Press Release: Advocates Push for Increased Enforcement and Later Rule Sunset to Prevent Improper Foreclosures as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Final Servicing Rule

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) released its final rule under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) related to helping homeowners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule contains important consumer protections to help stave off unnecessary foreclosures, but the time period for the rule’s foreclosure protections should be extended and the Bureau should vigorously enforce it to ensure homeowners receive the intended protections.