Financial Reform News Archives - Page 30 of 125 - Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: ‘Unaccountable Bureaucracy’ Wins High Marks From Public

Despite broad popular support for the CFPB, the House Financial Services Committee depicts it as “a bogeyman that’s menacing borrowers and homebuyers,” says Susan Antilla (The Street, 2/13).

“’Eventually, the legislators who have acted this way are going to realize how wildly out of touch they are with their own constituents,” AFR’s Jim Lardner told Antilla. “They’re running the risk of being seen as pawns of Wall Street and slippery lenders.”

AFR Statement on CFTC Treatment of European Trading Facilities

“The derivatives market is a global market, but risks incurred by U.S. firms can impact the U.S. economy regardless of where a derivatives transaction takes place. As the process of cross-border regulation moves forward we urge the CFTC to ensure that all derivatives transactions posing a risk to the U.S. economy fall either under U.S. rules or under a regime that is fully equivalent to U.S. rules and is properly enforced.”

AFR Letter to Banking Regulators on Liquidity Coverage Rule

AFR submitted a comment letter to the banking regulators concerning their proposed rule requiring banks to hold liquidity reserves (extra funds to meet payment obligations in a stressed situation.)

AFR Praises Rep. Doggett’s Bill to End the Tax Deductibility of Pay Above $1 Million a Year

“Americans for Financial Reform applauds the introduction of HR 3970, ‘The Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act,’ by Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). Like a companion measure in in the Senate, H.R. 3970 would cap the tax deductibility of CEO pay at $1 million, closing loopholes in order to truly carry out the intent of a 1993 law that originally called for such a cap.”

Financial Reform – Key Piece of the Inequality Puzzle

“The President’s State of the Union address tonight will continue a conversation about the problem of growing inequality. If we are going to reverse the trend and set this country on a path toward broadly shared opportunity and prosperity, steps to rein in Wall Street excess and reshape the rules of the game for the financial system will need to have a prominent place on the To Do list.”

The Financial Service Committee’s Skewed “Survey”

“An overwhelming majority of Americans strongly supports the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has been busy returning money to defrauded consumers and bringing commonsense rules to a market that desperately needed them. By contrast, the leaders of the House Financial Services Committee have relentlessly attacked the bureau in terms that echo the arguments of the worst elements of the financial services industry.”

AFR in the News: How Half of Wall Street Hopes to Evade Dodd-Frank

Half of the big Wall Street banks are using their foreign ownership to escape key provisions of Dodd-Frank. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. “Whether the foreign banking rule gets done is a big test,” Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform, told the New York Times, adding: “Considering the number of problems with American banks that have occurred in London subsidiaries, I would appreciate seeing the Europeans raise the bar for foreign operations of American banks. That would be a win for the American taxpayer.’”

The Leadership Conference, AFR Support Action Against Fraudulent Transactions

The Leadership Conference and AFR sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging continued vigilance in preventing fraudulent transactions and protecting consumers. The Department’s recent complaint against Four Oaks Bank & Trust demonstrated the extent to which fraudsters can abuse consumers when key safeguards designed to protect the payment networks are ignored

“Fast Track” Threatens Wall Street Reform

The Obama administration is asking Congress to grant “fast track” authority for a new round of trade agreements, including the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In response to this request, Chairman Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee and

Good News for Consumers: Regions Bank Bows Out of the Payday Loan Business

Regions Bank announced today that it will no longer be offering triple-digit-interest payday-style loans. That’s very good news for consumers in the 16 southern and midwestern states where Regions operates. It’s one more step towards the end of a type of lending that is no less destructive when it’s practiced by a bank instead of a storefront.