In 2020, amid a global reckoning for racial justice, the largest Wall Street banks make public pledges to better serve communities of color. But their recent lawsuit to overturn the enforcement of the updated 1977 Community Reinvestment Act starkly undermines the principles they claim to champion.
Today, Sam Bankman Fried – known as SBF, the founder of crypto firm FTX; the once exalted face of the crypto boom, and now the poster child for crypto scandals – was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison, after being found guilty of seven counts of fraud in a jury trial last year. The presiding judge found SBF, in addition to his other charges, had committed perjury and witness tampering during his trial as well.
Financial institutions like insurers, banks, and mortgage lenders, might raise prices or simply withdraw from major markets they deem environmentally risky. If that sounds trivial, consider that in the case of property insurance we’re already seeing these exclusions cover entire states.
Physical risks from climate change are growing, and the pace is accelerating. In 2023, the United States set an unfortunate record by experiencing 28 weather and climate disasters that each inflicted over $1 billion in damage.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its final rule targeting deceptive conduct in the sale and financing of motor vehicles, titled the “Combatting Auto Retail Scams” (CARS) Rule. The rule holds great promise, safeguarding consumers and promoting transparency within the motor vehicle industry. This crucial
On November 29th and 30th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra will testify before Congress regarding the Semi-Annual Report of the CFPB.
We should be clear about the motives of the banks’ strong opposition to the bank capital proposals released by federal regulators on July 27. The proposals will make it harder for bank executives to pursue riskier short-term financial gains and mobilize capital for their own benefit by paying excessive dividends and buying back shares. It is that simple, and any debate that does not include this fact is disingenuous.
The famously gruff Volcker had no patience for the arguments of the big-bank lobby against higher capital requirements and other regulations just after the 2008 financial crisis. An equally fitting word is “nonsense,” a favorite of Anat Admati, an economist at Stanford University, who has also applied it repeatedly since 2008.
As we approach the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Representative Ayanna Pressley sent a letter to the CEOs of the five largest banks in the U.S. — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and Citigroup — calling for a financial audit report detailing the status of the racial equity pledges they made in response to the summer 2020 uprisings following the murder of George Floyd. The pledges ranged from $116 million committed by U.S. Bank to $30 billion committed by JPMorgan Chase.
Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, one of the murkiest corners of the financial market – private credit – has exploded in size as investors chase higher returns. Private credit, also referred to as non-bank direct lending, has become the fastest area of growth in corporate lending.