In a 181-page letter to federal regulators, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, and the Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association take aim at a set of proposed rules intended to ensure compliance with new international capital standards. Regulators should have “conducted an
“A lobbying campaign by the securities industry threatens to water down a U.S. financial reform measure that was supposed to protect American states, towns and cities from being taken for a ride by financial advisors,” Karen Brettell of Reuters reports. Under pressure from House Republicans,
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau won’t be on the ballot next month. Just the same, its continued vitality, if not its very existence, could turn out to rest on the election outcome, according to Janna Herron of Fox Business. “The bureau has quickly become the
Commerce Bank hiked the interest rate on Mira Tanna’s credit card to 20 percent – without telling her. Once she figured out what the bank had done, realized what happened, Tanna decided to make use of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new online complaint database,
“The Libor bid-rigging scandal is poised to more than double the losses suffered by U.S. states and localities that bought $500 billion in interest-rate swaps before the financial crisis,” according to Bloomberg News (Oct. 9). “Manipulation of the London interbank offered rate cost issuers in
In a telephone press conference co-hosted by Americans for Financial Reform, investor advocates and the president of a state securities regulators’ group sharply criticized the SEC’s proposed rule to permit the mass marketing of private stock offerings. The four speakers were united in asking the
Advisor One covered AFR’s strong support for a retail investor fiduciary duty in a recent Cato Institute event.
The Bond Buyer devoted an article to AFR and affiliated groups letter of opposition to HR 2827, which would roll back Dodd-Frank protections for taxpayers in municipal finance. An excerpt: Seven groups, led by Americans for Financial Reform, urged lawmakers to vote “no” to H.R.
More than 100 members of Congress have communicated with the Federal Reserve and other regulators about the yet-to-be-finalized Volcker Rule, which is supposed to restrain banks from making risky trades or investing in hedge funds. “The Fed, like all regulators, provides feedback to lawmakers,” Ben
Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi sees the potential for more Jefferson County-style disasters in H.R. 2827, a “compromise” that sharply reduces the ethical responsibilities of those who sell complex financial products to municipalities.