Commentary Archives - Page 6 of 12 - Americans for Financial Reform

Blog: Congress Should Heed Warnings from Today’s Exxon Shareholder Meeting

Today is Exxon’s annual shareholder meeting. Regardless of the results of key votes, shareholders have made their voices heard by making it clear there will be consequences for corporations that, as the fossil fuels giant has, sue their own shareholders for daring to exercise their rights. Members of Congress should be listening too as they consider curtailing shareholder rights through H.R. 4655 and H.R. 4767 — bills marked up by the House Financial Services Committee that are expected to come to a floor vote this summer.

Blog Post: SEC Tightening of SPAC Rules Will Spare Investors Further Losses

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently finalized a rule that will close loopholes Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) issuers have taken advantage of to profit at the expense of investors. The rule becomes effective starting July 1st of this year. Here is what to

photo of Wall Street sign in NYC | Photo by Chris Li on Unsplash

Blog: Wall Street Pretends to Champion Racial Justice as it Undermines Civil Rights

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.

Blog: Sam Bankman Fried’s Sentencing is the Beginning, not the End of the Push for Crypto Accountability.

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.

Blog Post: Bluelining: How Climate Change is Driving an Insurance Crisis

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.

Blog Post: Instead of Bluelining, Support Resilience, Relocation, and Realistic Development

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 FTC just announced long-awaited rules to fight common auto-lending scams, an important first step in curbing dealer abuses

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

Blog Post: The Next CFPB Semi-Annual Review is November 29th (before the House) & November 30th (Senate)

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.

Blog Post: Wall Street Throws the Kitchen Sink at Bank Capital Proposals

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.

Wall Street sign and a stoplight turned red - Photo by Roberto Júnior on Unsplash

Blog Post: Bank Lobbyist Nonsense About Capital Rules

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.