team, Author at Americans for Financial Reform

Joint Statement: We Applaud Pressley/Omar/Adams/Waters Resolution to Cancel Student Debt

We applaud Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Alma Adams and House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters for introducing the House companion to the Schumer/Warren resolution calling for broad-based federal student debt cancellation via executive action. Cancelling substantial student debt will provide both immediate financial relief to millions of Americans, and crucial economic stimulus for everyone during this protracted crisis — boosting GDP and job creation at a time of intense labor shocks and economic contraction.

Letters to Regulators: Letters to OCC about Oportun’s Application for a National Bank Charter

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund signs onto two comment letters to the OCC about Oportun’s application for a national bank charter. The letters express several concerns about Oportun’s practices regarding debt collection, lending and Community Reinvestment Act compliance planning. They urge the OCC to condition Oportun’s charter upon substantial improvement of these practices.

In The News: Kelly Loeffler, a Wall Street Senator With a Hardscrabble Pitch (The New York Times)

“The conflict of interest is just so completely glaring,” said Marcus Stanley, the policy director of Americans for Financial Reform, a nonpartisan Wall Street watchdog. “Almost all of ICE’s important activities are regulated in very fine detail by the C.F.T.C.”

Letter to Transition: SEC Needs Chair Committed to Corporate Accountability, Transparent Public Markets.

We urge you to nominate an SEC Chair who is committed to restoring corporate accountability and rebuilding robust, transparent public markets. Our country needs an SEC that will challenge powerful interests on Wall Street to better promote inclusive economic growth, while also protecting main street investors, pension plan participants, workers, and the communities in which we live.

A pair of hands writing on paper with a pen

JOINT RELEASE: CFPB’s Debt Collection Rule Misses Critical Opportunities to Protect Consumers

The Urban Institute has documented that, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 31% of adults in the United States with credit reports have debt in collection. That number goes up to 42% for those residing in communities of color.

Letters to Congress: Joint letter urging opposition to deregulation of Federal securities laws

American families and businesses need an economic response from Congress and the administration that provides real job-creating stimulus, and not just another deregulatory handout to powerful financial interests.

Policy Recommendations: Recommendations for Immediate Action by the Biden Administration in Banking and Markets Regulation

AFR released recommendations for “Day One” policy actions by the Biden Administration in the areas of banking regulation, securities and markets regulation, and addressing systemic risk. These are actions that could be taken without a lengthy rulemaking and would make immediate progress toward a fairer

In the News: ‘Build Back Better?’ Start with the Fed’s MLF (The Bond Buyer)

Next month, Joe Biden is going confront not only a terrible pandemic but also a pressing economic challenge. And this challenge is unfolding beyond Washington as the sum of thousands of smaller economic challenges being felt in statehouses, county seats, and city halls all across the country. Fortunately, there are tools at hand that President Biden can use. But he’ll have to be bold.

News Release: New Study Documents Job Losses in Retail Due to Private Equity

Private equity pillaging of the retail industry has cost over half a million jobs amid over 18,000 store closures through February 2020, according to a new study, the first to examine job losses at the state level. The job losses occurred in every state, with more than 10,000 jobs lost in 20 states and more than 30,000 lost in California, Florida, and New York.

News Release: FDIC Approves Rule Promoting Predatory Lending

The FDIC’s ILC rule threatens state-level consumer protections, further erodes the traditional separation between banking and commerce, and jeopardizes the safety and soundness of the financial system and the economy as a whole.