AFREF joined a letter calling on HUD to increase the affordability of FHA insurance mortgages by lowering the FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium by 25 to 35 basis points and ending the life of loan requirement on the FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums.
AFREF and 34 allies sent a letter regarding the Safety and Soundness Act, which requires FHFA to establish annual housing goals for mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). This letter supports the proposal’s move towards a methodology that focuses on the percentage, not number, of affordable housing units financed by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). However, the proposal fails to hold the GSEs to adequate lending standards and refine what counts as affordable housing units.
This letter seeks policy reforms that will prevent GSEs from financing loans that contribute to displacement and substandard living conditions for low income tenants and tenants of color. It also objects to FHFA goals being set at levels that are below recent performance by the Enterprises.
AFREF led a letter to the Department of Labor in response to their proposed amendment to prohibited transaction class action exemption 84-14.
AFREF led a letter to President Biden calling on him to adopt contracting standards to: 1) narrow the gaps between CEO and worker pay; 2) reduce wasteful spending on stock buybacks; and 3) support workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
AFREF sent a letter in support of proposals from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission that would provide the agencies and by extension the Financial Stability Oversight Council with additional information from the $18 trillion private fund industry related to: more specific details about their holdings in digital assets, more granular data around derivatives and swaps that reference corporate debt and information about the base currencies their holdings are denominated in. Such information will help regulators ensure that they have a clearer picture into the holdings and risks posed by the $18 trillion private fund industry in order to be able to react proactively to any risks that may threaten the financial system.
AFREF joined a letter responding to a request for information from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy about how federal agencies can better support collaboration with other levels of government, civil society, and the research community regarding the production and use of equitable data.
AFREF joined 91 coalition partners in sending a letter to the CFPB in support of banning all medical debt from consumer credit reports. The letter asks the CFPB to take a step further and address this issue by beginning the rulemaking process to ban medical for medically necessary services.
AFREF joined civil rights and consumer advocacy organizations in responding to the Appraisal Standards Board’s request for comment on the proposed changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice that would add nondiscrimination language to USPAP’s Ethics Rule. The letter recognizes the history and persistence of racial discrimination in appraisals and makes several specific recommendations for fighting discrimination in the appraisal process.
AFREF joined a letter to the CFPB urging it to take action on the ongoing issue of forced arbitration in consumer financial services/products.
AFREF and allies submitted a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission in support of its proposal to update certain substantive bases for exclusion of shareholder proposals. Shareholder proposals are an important part of our corporate governance system, and in the letter, we encourage the Commission to ensure the full range of benefits of shareholder proposals are taken into consideration when finalizing the rule, including shareholder proposals’ role in identifying, raising awareness, and addressing both company-level and systemic risks.