AFR in the News Archives - Page 17 of 59 - Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: There Are Real Reasons to Bring Back Glass-Steagall (American Banker)

AFR’s Marcus Stanley writes: “The 2008 crisis was catastrophic for the global economy not simply because nonbank financial institutions failed, but because the problems in nonbanks spread throughout the financial system and threatened to bring down giant megabanks that combined commercial and investment banking, such as Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Glass-Steagall firewalls between Wall Street trading markets and ordinary commercial banking are directly relevant to stopping this kind of contagion.”

AFR in the News: How Predatory Payday Lenders Plot to Fight Government Regulation

“VICE has obtained exclusive transcripts of this year’s annual meeting of the Community Financial Services Association of America… at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort. That’s where lenders were taught exactly what it might take to beat back an existential threat to their business. Trapping people in unaffordable debt is ‘their business model,’ said Gynnie Robnett [of] Americans for Financial Reform… ‘And they seem determined to preserve it, any weasel-y way they can.'”

Representative DeFazio Reintroduces A Financial Transaction Tax to Put Main Street FIRST

Tapping into the strong anti-Wall Street sentiment, on July 13th, Representative DeFazio reintroduced his financial transaction tax legislation as the “Putting Main Street FIRST Act: Finish Irresponsible Reckless Speculative Trading Act.” The reintroduction of this bill comes with a fresh score from the Joint

AFR in the News: Sanders wants Clinton to break up big banks. Will she? (CNN Money)

“[A]lexis Goldstein, a senior analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, thinks banks might be too complacent. She notes that a recent poll shows that 75% of Americans think banks need to tougher laws. ‘I think it’s clear that voters are still very unhappy about this,’ says Goldstein. She thinks it will be hard for either party to ignore the voter outrage.”

AFR in the News: Time Short for Goldman, Morgan Stanley to Exit Billions in Funds (Bloomberg)

“The banks have had plenty of warning, and they’ve had a good market to sell their holdings, said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform. They ‘want to hit the snooze button again over and over with the Fed,’ Stanley said… ‘The regulators have to be prepared to say, Time’s up.’ ”

AFR in the News: While Democrats Protested for Gun Control, the GOP Tried to Stand Up for Financial Advisers (Slate)

“Even as Democrats staged a historic sit-in on the House floor beginning Wednesday… GOP representatives made sure to let the financial services industry know they cared. As a tweet from the Americans for Financial Reform put it: ‘The House reconvenes to defend billions in Wall Street profits earned by putting its interests over their clients.’”

AFR in the News: Lawmakers generate plan to gut watchdog (Detroit News)

“Consumer advocates see a different agenda at work. ‘This plan doesn’t get tough on banks,” the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform said in a statement. “It gets tough on the regulators policing them.’”

AFR in the News: Hillary Clinton’s plan to take on a Wall Street perk (Washington Post)

“[W]ith populist anger aimed at Wall Street during this presidential election season rising, the ‘carried interest loophole,’ which allows the managers of private-equity firms to pay a lower tax rate, is back in the spotlight. ‘This year is just different. There has been a populist surge politically in both parties,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform. ‘Having the wealthiest people in the financial system paying a lower rate than everyone else is even harder to swallow. People realize that it doesn’t have to be like this.'”

AFR IN THE NEWS: Obama administration issues rules to overhaul student debt forgiveness

“‘We’re disappointed that the department is replacing the current state law standard with a federal standard that won’t be as comprehensive for borrowers that live in states with strong consumer protection laws,’ said Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst at the progressive Americans for Financial Reform.”

AFR in the News: Occupy movement has grown up — and looks to inflict real pain on big banks (Washington Post)

“The group, Take On Wall Street, plans to combine the efforts of some of the Democratic Party’s biggest traditional backers, from the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO to the Communications Workers of America. The group says it will aim to turn the public’s lingering anger at the financial sector into policy initiatives that could change the way that Wall Street works.”