AFR in the News Archives - Page 11 of 58 - Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: Revised GOP bill would destroy the Consumer Bureau (LA Times)

“The Texas Republican shared a memo with other lawmakers last week outlining changes he plans to make to his so-called Financial CHOICE Act… Impressively, he’s managed to make a bad bill even worse… Marcus Stanley, policy director for the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform, said Hensarling’s revised bill ‘makes regulators even weaker than they were before the financial crisis…’ Score that a big win for financial firms after years of filling Hensarling’s pockets with money.”

AFR in the News: GOP would give Trump power over Wall Street regulation (CNN Money)

“‘This latest bill will wind up making regulators weaker than they were before the crisis,’ Marcus Stanley [of] Americans for Financial Reform… told CNNMoney. ‘It’s definitely a shift toward empowering the White House to micromanage consumer protections and enforcement actions.'”

AFR in the News: Banks and credit card companies really hate class actions – will Trump help outlaw them? (LA Times)

“Sometime in the next few weeks, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to impose stringent limits on the ability of banks and credit card companies to avoid consumer lawsuits. The financial services industry has been screaming bloody murder
‘We’re all preparing for a big fight,’ says Amanda Werner, who has been keeping an eye on the CFPB rule making for the consumer groups Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform.”

AFR IN THE NEWS: Betsy DeVos Is Rolling Back Student Loan Regulations From the Obama Administration (Teen Vogue)

“‘In order to have accountability, there must be real consequences when servicers violate the law,’ Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst at the progressive Americans for Financial Reform, told the Tribune. ‘DeVos’ actions today moves us away from true accountability, and creates dangers for the very student loan borrowers the department is responsible for protecting.'”

AFR in the News: DeVos reverses Obama directives protecting student loan borrowers (Market Watch)

“’Undoing these memos is a very concerning indication of how much (Department of Education officials) value protecting borrowers versus how much they want to insulate servicers,’ said Alexis Goldstein [of] Americans for Financial Reform. ‘Is this meant to be a message that says we are less concerned with borrowers and more concerned with protecting servicers even if they made mistakes in the past?’”

AFR IN THE NEWS: DeVos dials back consumer protections for student loan borrowers (Washington Post)

“’In order to have accountability, there must be real consequences when servicers violate the law,’ said Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst at the progressive Americans for Financial Reform. ‘DeVos’s actions today moves us away from true accountability, and creates dangers for the very student loan borrowers the department is responsible for protecting.’

AFR IN THE NEWS: The One Retirement Rule Wall Street Hates The Most (Forbes)

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a group of investor protection groups such as Americans for Financial Reform and the Consumer Federation of America have unveiled the ‘Retirement Ripoff Counter, which is a digital, large-scale, live projector that will show the harm President Trump is doing to investors by delaying the fiduciary rule. On the evening of April 5th, after dusk, the projection of the Retirement Ripoff Counter will be displayed on the sides of several major Washington landmarks.'”

AFR IN THE NEWS: Embattled bankers embrace Trump’s call for deregulation: ‘Profit is not a four-letter word.’ (Washington Post)

“’They are doing great under the current system,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform.
The country’s nearly 6,000 banks — from large players such as Bank of America to the small community and regional banks packed into the hotel conference room — pulled in more than $171 billion in profits last year — a new record, according to recently released Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. Wall Street bonuses rose for the first time in three years in 2016 to an average of $138,210, and big banks such as Goldman Sachs have seen their stock prices surge since Trump’s election, even after a pullback this week.
Ballentine, the lobbyist, told bankers they should not be embarrassed by that success. ‘Profit is not a four-letter word. You’re supposed to be profitable,’ he said.”

AFR IN THE NEWS:Trump administration calls the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional in filing (Washington Post)

“Some supporters of the CFPB said the director should be shielded from shifts in presidential administrations to provide a more consistent approach to regulation. ‘It is independent from the political process, just like the other bank and financial regulators,’ said Brian Simmonds Marshall, policy counsel for Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition that fights for civil rights and labor issues.”

AFR IN THE NEWS: Trump and Warren Are on a Collision Course (New Republic)

“‘Unlike other agencies, the CFPB’s complaint system is public and searchable,’ says Alexis Goldstein, a senior analyst with Americans for Financial Reform. ‘It’s become a great resource for anyone getting ripped off.’ Thirteen million Americans have used the CFPB’s education and training programs, and the agency routinely helps consumers force lenders to reduce or erase fees and overcharges. All told, the agency has chalked up nearly $12 billion in civil fines and consumer refunds for 29 million Americans defrauded by scams. It has returned another $8 billion to consumers by reducing predatory loans, or canceling them outright.”