Financial Reform News Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: BlackRock & Vanguard Enable Dangerous Amazon Warehouse Working Conditions

BlackRock and Vanguard, the world’s two largest asset managers, voted against a shareholder proposal requesting an independent audit of Amazon’s notoriously dangerous warehouse working conditions for the third year in a row, according to recently-disclosed proxy voting data. This vote reflects a troubling pattern of powerful asset managers using their immense power over public companies to stand in the way of shareholder efforts to force corporate boards and executives to address very real financial risks.

News Release: Broad, Independent Probe of Fed Failings on Bank Crisis Essential

A successful independent investigation into the failure of the Federal Reserve to prevent the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and the current banking crisis must have a broad scope and the authority to collect and make public the evidence from the probe, according to Americans for Financial Reform.

News Release: New Poll Shows Consumer Bureau Popular Across Party Lines

A new poll released today shows voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly back the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), financial regulation generally and a variety of new, specific consumer protections. The findings are released as the Supreme Court is poised to consider a lawsuit from payday lenders that could invalidate the CFPB’s funding mechanism, which would undermine its effectiveness.

News Release: HUD Guts Critical Tool For Fighting Housing Discrimination

For over 45 years, the disparate impact doctrine has allowed people to chip away at policies that have a discriminatory effect even if there is no intent to discriminate. When the need to address systemic racism is so urgent, and the costs of failing to do so are so devastating, HUD has chosen to finalize a rule that effectively dismantles this essential tool for fighting injustice.

News Release: Opportunity Zones will worsen affordable housing crisis, displace Black and Brown residents

The Opportunity Zone tax break is likely to exacerbate the affordable housing crisis and displace residents of color and lower-income residents while rewarding rich real estate investors with a lucrative tax break, according to a new report by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Institute, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Kansas City Tenants, and New York Communities for Change.

Report: Wall Street’s Big Opportunity: A Corporate Tax Break Masquerading as Community Development

The Opportunity Zone (O-Zone) tax break was created by the 2017 Republican tax cut legislation. It was promoted as a way to incentivize investment in economically disadvantaged areas but it is marred by poor design and flawed implementation so that it will most likely provide tax breaks for investments in already booming cities and gentrifying neighborhoods. The program incentivizes investments that aim to maximize returns in lower-income areas where residents are vulnerable to economic displacement pressures.

News Release: SEC Should Mandate Disclosures on COVID-19 Risks and Responses

The Securities and Exchange Commission should create new disclosure requirements that would allow investors to analyze how companies are acting to protect workers, prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, and responsibly use any federal aid they receive, according to a letter signed by more than 98 investors, state treasurers, public interest groups, labor unions, asset managers and securities law experts.

News Release: Administration Must Publish Data on Small-Business Lending Program

The only plausible reason to hide information about the small-business relief program, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced, is that the Trump administration wants to hide who is or is not getting help, and to what extent it is working.

Scary Shark in pitch black waters - Photo by Wai Siew on Unsplash

In The News: Advocates Condemn Rent-a-Bank Rule that Encourages Predatory High-Cost Loans

Consumer advocates slammed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its final rule issued today that encourages online non-bank lenders to launder their loans through banks so they can offer high-cost triple-digit loans in states where such loans are illegal. The rules were strongly opposed by a bipartisan group of attorneys general as well as by numerous community, consumer, civil rights, faith and small business organizations, and may face legal challenges.

News Release: OCC Pursues Weakening of CRA Despite COVID-19 Impacts

Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, black homeownership was already at historically low levels nationwide and the racial wealth gap was widening, leaving communities of color with far less wealth and fewer resources for emergencies. COVID-19 has been particularly devastating for African-Americans, low-income families, and immigrants, who are bearing the brunt of the resulting economic fallout as well.