Category Archives: AFR in the News

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AFR Statement: Cordray Nomination Markup in Senate Banking Committee

“American families want and need someone to level the playing field and prevent tricks and traps in the financial services market”, said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform. “We call on all Senators to stand up for families and confirm Richard Cordray as CFPB director.

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AFR in The News – The Push to Pull the Teeth out of Dodd-Frank

The current economic turbulence is a direct result of insufficient regulation — so it makes no sense to curb pending rules that would address the causes of the crisis, says Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of labor, civil rights, community, and small business groups. “The thought that what we need to get the economy going again is to cut back on regulation is astoundingly backwards,” she says, noting that recent polls suggest businesses are struggling with economic conditions, not overregulation.”

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AFR in the News – State is key to deal on mortgages

‘The banks want to get away with everything, and she is probably one of the linchpins in saying that is going to happen or isn’t going to happen,’ said Liz Ryan Murray, the chairwoman of the foreclosure task force at Americans for Financial Reform. ‘We would like to see her come forward and be more public on what she will and won’t give up.’”

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Questions Arise About UBS Risk Controls

Questions Arise About UBS Risk Controls Alistair MacDonald and Deborah Ball (WSJ – subscription required) September 16, 2011 “Risk-management and control specialists are again questioning the banking industry’s ability to manage risks and regulator’s efforts to police the sector after a UBS AG trader lost

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Global Standards Sought on Rules

Global Standards Sought on Rules Victoria McGrane (WSJ – subscription required) September 16, 2011 “Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a letter Wednesday assured Congress that the Obama administration and federal regulators are working with their international counterparts to see they adopt similar rules requiring market

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Delta One Desks Are Big Moneymakers

Delta One Desks Are Big Moneymakers Susanne Craig and Azam Ahmed (DealBook/NYT) September 15, 2011 “The $2 billion trading loss that has rocked the Swiss banking giant UBS has also cast a spotlight on a relatively unknown but increasingly profitable corner of Wall Street —

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Swap Lobbyists Pushing SEC Version of Trading Rules Over CFTC

Swap Lobbyists Pushing SEC Version of Trading Rules Over CFTC Jesse Hamilton and Silla Brush (Bloomberg) September 9, 2011 “In a match made in Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are supposed to work in tandem to oversee the $601

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Consumer Protection Bureau in Political Limbo

Consumer Protection Bureau in Political Limbo Katherine Reynolds Lewis (The Fiscal Times) September 6, 2011 “Until the Senate confirms a director, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cannot impose rules on some of the worst actors in the 2008 financial crisis: payday lenders and non-bank mortgage

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Press Coverage from Credit Ratings Agencies Briefing Call

Franken Pursues Tighter Oversight of Rating Agencies Ben Protess (Dealbook/NYT) September 1, 2011 “The Dodd-Frank Act cracked down on the credit rating agencies, the firms that awarded rosy ratings to bonds backed by junky mortgages, but some lawmakers and consumer advocates contend that the regulatory

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3 Questions on Financial Stability

3 Questions on Financial Stability Simon Johnson (Herald Tribune – FL) September 1, 2011 “The Dodd-Frank financial legislation of 2010 created a Financial Stability Oversight Council, tasked with taking an integrated view of risks in and around the financial sector in the United States. Known