Category Archives: AFR in the News

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AFR in the News: Analysis: Volcker pay curbs spark fears of Wall St. exodus

Dave Clarke (Reuters)

“The Volcker rule has created a new battlefield over Wall Street pay that banks fear will send their star traders and hedge fund advisers fleeing. … ‘The question is whether just saying that compensation arrangements cannot encourage proprietary risk taking is enough or whether they have to be more specific,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for the group Americans for Financial Reform.”

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AFR in the News: Transaction Tax On Financial Speculation Gets Boost From Occupy Wall Street

Ryan Grim (Huffington Post)

“Boosted by the Occupy Wall Street movement, two Democrats in the House and Senate are renewing a push for a transaction tax on speculative trades. … Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of progressive and labor organizations focused on reforming Wall Street, threw its weight behind the tax in a letter to the super committee:”

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Conference Call: Private Student Loan Debts Highlight Need for Fully Operational CFPB

The Institute for College Access & Success and Americans for Financial Reform hosted a conference call with reporters and bloggers Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 12:00 PM EDT to discuss private student loan debt and what the impact of delaying the confirmation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director means for students and families. Listen to the replay.

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AFR In the News: Regulators Advance Volcker Rule

Ben Protess (DealBook/NYT)
October 11, 2011

“Unfortunately, this initial proposal does not deliver on the promise of the Volcker Rule or the requirements of the statute,” said Marcus Stanley, policy director of American for Financial Reform, an advocacy group. …“The vagueness of the proposal, and the hundreds of questions it includes, also demonstrate that we are still in the middle of this process,” said Mr. Stanley. “It’s important to use this opportunity to strengthen the rule – and to prevent Wall Street lobbyists from weakening it still further.”

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AFR in the News: Nominee to Lead Consumer Agency Clears a Hurdle

Ben Protess (DealBook/NYT)
October 6, 2011

‘We call on all senators to stand up for families and confirm Richard Cordray as C.F.P.B. director,’ said Lisa Donner, head of Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy group. ‘Will you implement the law and make sure the C.F.P.B. can do its job helping people defend themselves from loan sharks big and small? Or will you block consumer protection and instead protect wrongdoing by companies that caused the financial crisis?’

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AFR in the News: How Lobbyists Are Undermining Dodd-Frank: A Case Study

Darius Tahir (The New Republic)
October 6, 2011

As Marcus Stanley of Americans for Financial Reform told me, all sorts of people rely on predictable commodity markets for their business: gas stations, businesses that supply heating oil, enterprises that order food in bulk such as confectioners, and so on. Higher volatility often ends up being passed on to businesses as a higher cost on their balance sheet, with predictable consequences

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AFR in the News: Consumer Groups Urge Senate Approval Of Consumer Watchdog

Jim McConville (Financial Advisor)
October 6, 2011

“This [delay] is harming consumers,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and chairman of Americans for Financial Reform Task Force on the CFPB, during a conference call on Wednesday that was sponsored by the consumer group Americans for Financial Reform. ‘The lack of the full authority of the CFPB is a serious problem, which leaves students, military families, veterans and older Americans at risk of financial problems,’ Mierzwinski added.