Late fees down by an average of $6; more people making above-the-minimum payments; far fewer young adults signing up for credit cards in the first place – these are some of the results of a landmark 2009 law, according to a new report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“For too many years, dealers and advisors in the municipal market have felt free to give self-serving advice designed to generate more profits for them at the expense of their clients… Properly implemented, [today’s rule] should curtail the abuse and provide enormous benefits for taxpayers and investors.”
In the end, the Commission stood firm against industry resistance to a common-sense disclosure requirement. The SEC also correctly insisted that part-time and overseas workers be included in the calculation, consistent with the language and intent of the statute.
AFR joined seven organizations in sending a letter to FHFA urging that they protect homeowners, investors, and taxpayers from costly force placed insurance abuses.
“The giant financial institutions at the center of the economy are larger than ever, and still combine economically critical payment functions with complex and murky trading and brokerage activities.”
AFR joined public interest groups in signing onto two letters to Fifth Third Bank and Regions Financial Corporation calling on them to bring themselves in line with guidance from the federal regulators and discontinue their deposit advance products.
While many in Washington would rather stand pat or turn back the clock, Americans are strikingly united in wanting more financial reform, not less, according to a national survey of likely voters conducted this summer.
Consumer Action’s press release Consumers Union’s press release National Consumer Law Center’s press release
Congress will soon be back from recess – and back to gnashing its teeth over the budget and the various important things that, too many in that branch of government now contend, our country can no longer afford to do. They could expand their sense of the possible by considering a source of revenue they have so far largely ignored – a small tax on sales of stocks, bonds, and complex financial instruments.
Under current practice, investors seeking brokerage and other financial advisory services must agree in advance to submit any complaints to arbitration by an industry-run regulatory body. The Investor Choice Act would restore the right of investors to take such disputes to a court of law, if they prefer.