In the News: As Consumer Protections Dwindle, Schools Push Financial Literacy
Teaching students how to manage their money has become mandatory in many K-12 classrooms. But can it substitute for real enforcement of financial fraud?
Category Archives: In the News
In the News: If You’re Wondering Who The SEC’s New ‘Best Interest’ Rule Helps, Listen To The SEC
As part of a larger package, the Securities and Exchange Commission this week adopted the new “Regulation Best Interest,” which requires that stock broker/dealers act in their customers’ “best interest,” a term that is not defined.
In the News: ‘Best Interest’ Rule for Brokers is an Improvement, but with Maddening Gray Areas
“By calling this Regulation Best Interest, (Chairman) Jay Clayton and the SEC have gone full Orwell on us,” Dougherty said. “This regulation does not require your broker to act in your best interest the way a doctor or lawyer does. You still need to treat your broker as a used-car salesman who might pull a fast one on you.”
AFR In The News: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Top Six Dubious Accomplishments In 2018 (Talking Points Memo)
“The failure of Mulvaney’s CFPB to properly carry out the law, whether by failing to supervise companies or dropping cases that were underway is a green light for direct and immediate harm to ordinary Americans,” Carter Dougherty, communications director for Americans for Financial Reform, told TPM via email.
AFR in the news: House bill turns its back on students to favor corporations that abuse the federal financial aid system (NBC THINK)
“Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-Va., the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced a bill last week that sells out students to corporate interests ready to get rich off taxpayer-backed education dollars. A bill reauthorizing the Higher Education Act should be a real opportunity to help students; this one just makes their lives worse by raising repayment costs for struggling borrowers, letting institutions that scam students off the hook, and narrowing relief for defrauded students.”
AFR IN THE NEWS: The One Retirement Rule Wall Street Hates The Most (Forbes)
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a group of investor protection groups such as Americans for Financial Reform and the Consumer Federation of America have unveiled the ‘Retirement Ripoff Counter, which is a digital, large-scale, live projector that will show the harm President Trump is doing to investors by delaying the fiduciary rule. On the evening of April 5th, after dusk, the projection of the Retirement Ripoff Counter will be displayed on the sides of several major Washington landmarks.'”
AFR IN THE NEWS: Consumer Watchdog Faces Attack by House Republicans (NY Times)
“’People know that financial companies were running amok, and that kind of behavior takes money out of people’s pockets and was the cause of a financial crisis,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘President Trump campaigned on standing up to Wall Street, and I don’t think his voters are looking for putting Goldman Sachs even more in charge.’”
AFR Testimony: Testimony to SEC Investor Advisory Committee Hearing
In the new political environment, it is likely that there will be a heavy emphasis on the capital formation mission of the SEC. The IAC should play a critical role in reminding the Commission that investor protection is crucial to stable and effective capital formation. …Improving financial entity disclosures is crucial if we are to improve market discipline for large financial entities and investor discipline for funds.
AFR Statement on ReFund Transit Coalition’s Swaps Report, “Riding the Gravy Train”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 7, 2012 CONTACT: Erin Kilroy at 202-466-1885 erin@ourfinancialsecurity.org AFR Statement on ReFund Transit Coalition’s Swaps Report, “Riding the Gravy Train” Washington DC – This report does a valuable service in documenting $529 million in annual swaps payments being made by
AFR Statement: JP Morgan Losses, Global Derivatives Regulation, and Today’s Speech by Gary Gensler
AFR released a statement on the JP Morgan losses, global derivatives regulation, and the speech by Gary Gensler at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA.)