All posts by AFR

sign for the CFPB outside a building

Blog: Big Banks Argue Discrimination is Fair and it’s Not Satire

Ask a reasonable person if discrimination on the basis of race or religion is unfair. The odds are good – very good, according to this AFR poll, – that you’ll get a resounding “yes,” a polite “of course,” or even an incredulous “are you kidding?” Yes. Discrimination. Is. Unfair. But if you try to convince big-bank lobbyists that discrimination is unfair, you won’t get a “yes.” You get a lawsuit, with multiple awful lines of attack, that stands a good chance of succeeding. And that’s not satire.

CFTC Offsets Media Advisory: Senators, Climate Justice Groups, and Financial Regulation Watchdogs Urge CFTC to Rein In Voluntary Carbon Market Derivatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA ADVISORY October 5th, 2022 CONTACT: Ada Recinos ada@amazonwatch.org (510) 473-7542 Senators, Climate Justice Groups, and Financial Regulation Watchdogs Urge CFTC to Rein In Voluntary Carbon Market Derivatives What: On Friday, October 7th, a coalition of climate justice and financial regulation advocacy

Letters to Regulators: Response to Request for Comment on Proposed Changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

AFREF joined civil rights and consumer advocacy organizations in responding to the Appraisal Standards Board’s request for comment on the proposed changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice that would add nondiscrimination language to USPAP’s Ethics Rule. The letter recognizes the history and persistence of racial discrimination in appraisals and makes several specific recommendations for fighting discrimination in the appraisal process.

In The News: Convenience has consequences (Politico)

“If big banks are going to compare themselves to the worst offenders in payments, then they are already losing the argument,” said Renita Marcellin, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform. “Their entire argument is built around trying to distract us from their responsibility for fraud in services that they themselves offer their own customers,” she added.

Blog: Hedge Funds and Labor Are Not Bedfellows

Two SEC proposals have billionaire activist hedge funds up in arms and pulling out all the stops—including falsely claiming organized labor is opposed to the important proposals.  Industry opponents will showcase their disdain at an upcoming Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) meeting scheduled for Sept. 21.

In The News: Explainer: What to know about ‘buy now, pay later’ (Associated Press)

Elyse Hicks, consumer policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, a progressive nonprofit, said people may not consider seriously enough whether they’ll still be able to afford payments down the road. “Because of inflation, people may think, ‘I’m going to have to get what I need and pay for it later in these installments,’” she said. “But are you still going to be able to afford the things you’re affording now six months from now?”