“‘While things have improved it looks like some [lead generators] are, predictably, trying to get around the rules,’ said Gynnie Robnett, Campaign Director for Americans for Financial Reform… This is extremely common for the payday lending industry, whose business model is in some part predicated on skirting regulatory barriers to get high-cost loans into customers’ hands.”
“Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Monday said she’ll crack down on increasingly common ‘fine print’ consumer agreements that insulate companies such as Wells Fargo from lawsuits related to consumer abuses… The clauses typically force customers to use the arbitration firm and arbitrator selected by the company, says Amanda Werner, arbitration campaign manager for Americans for Financial Reform.”
“Alexis Goldstein of Americans for Financial Reform said Clinton’s use of the term ‘clawback’ is a good sign and that she thinks it may be an endorsement on Clinton’s part of stricter rules regarding executive pay. ‘The amount of the fine by the three regulators, which is $185 million total, should be paid for out of executive bonuses, specifically Stumpf’s and one executive, Carrie Tolstedt,’ Goldstein added.”
“[P]erhaps the most shocking aspect of this story is that no executive under whose watch it occurred has been forced to return any compensation. While over 5,000 front line, mostly customer service employees have been fired, former consumer banking chief Carrie Tolstedt, who oversaw their work, recently retired with a $125 million compensation package. It is unclear if Wells Fargo plans to take back any of this pay package. There is similarly no clear indication that Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf will have to return any of the almost $100 million in bonus pay he received for the years in which the violations were occurring.”
“How did Wells Fargo get away with it for so long? A big part of the story: Wells Fargo contract provisions blocked consumers from suing the bank in court. It’s past time to prohibit the “ripoff clauses” that prevent consumers from enforcing their most basic legal rights… The problem isn’t just that aggrieved consumers don’t have access to a remedy. Keeping cases out of court means abuses are kept out of the spotlight. That’s exactly what happened with Wells Fargo, and why the abuses could go on so long.”
“If the regulators finish the rule soon, the Wells Fargo incident will be fresh in their minds. Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, is counting on Wells Fargo acting as a shield against bank lobbying. ‘I think it will make it more difficult,’ Stanley said. ‘What I’m hoping is that it’ll make it easier for us to lobby to make it tougher.’”
“Two top institutional shareholders in the world’s most valuable bank by market capitalisation have demanded answers over payments to Carrie Tolstedt, who headed the division where the episode took place… Brian Simmonds Marshall, policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, said: ‘Those who are responsible for the misconduct should not be getting bonuses for costing their shareholders and their customers money.'”
“The bill’s opponents — including [Rep. Maxine] Waters and the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform — question why Congress would undo some restrictions on private equity just as the S.E.C. was identifying problems in the industry. In particular, the opponents have raised concerns about a provision that would reduce the amount of information that large private equity fund managers report to regulators…”
“A Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to place caps on registered investment firms’ exposures to derivatives is showing the hallmarks of a classic Washington battle — the industry is trying to tamp down advocacy groups’ requests for broad regulations. Although the SEC hasn’t announced its plans, lobbyists who have been watching the derivatives rule expect the agency to move forward in the coming months. Watchdog groups like Better Markets and Americans for Financial Reform have championed the proposal…”
“The bad news, for Ms Warren’s supporters, is that new laws will be hard to pass. The good news is that the existing laws, including Dodd-Frank and the SEC’s governing legislation, already give future appointees all the authority they will need. What they do not believe they need is Wall Street experience. Marcus Stanley, policy director of the union-backed Americans for Financial Reform, the investor group, speaks for many progressives in stating: ‘We are reversing the status quo of many decades.’”