Today, banking regulators announced that they would not be extending one of the largest elements of pandemic-related regulatory relief, the exemption that allowed banks to remove almost $2 trillion in government securities assets from their balance sheets for the purposes of complying with capital regulations. That was the right thing to do.
AFREF joined a letter opposing the Office of Management and Budget’s proposal to redefine metropolitan statistical areas. The OMB’s proposal would result in a substantial loss for undeserved and under-invested communities by reducing the number of low and moderate income census tracts eligible for Community Reinvestment Act credit and decreasing the number of banks providing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, which may pose increased challenges to fair lending enforcement.
In partnership with The American Federation of Teachers, AFREF released a paper entitled “Lifting the Curtain on Private Equity: A Guide for Institutional Investors and Policymakers.”
AFREF joined our partners to send a letter urging HUD to take further steps to protect FHA borrowers facing COVID-related hardships form foreclosure, including requiring servicers to communicate the availability of several loss mitigation options, providing guidelines for contacting borrowers before the end of a forbearance, and collect performance data on COVID-19 loss mitigation options and make this information available to the public.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 18, 2021 Contact: Alexis Goldstein, alexis@ourfinancialsecurity.org Statement of Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst, Americans for Financial Reform: It is good to see the Department of Education finally take significant steps to fulfill the promise then-Secretary Arne Duncan made in 2015, that
AFR joined a letter asking Treasury to urge Congress to protect the third round of economic impact payments in the American Rescue Plan of 2021 from assignment and garnishment.
AFR organized a letter of support for two bills expanding and improving language access for mortgage transactions that will make important strides in improving access to the mortgage market and awareness of the availability of assistance for homeowners who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments. LEP borrowers face many challenges that impede their full participation in the consumer marketplace, including, specifically, their ability to obtain and preserve ownership of a home. Tracking and transferring the language preference of LEP borrowers and enhancing the availability and use of services and resources in their preferred languages will significantly improve market access for LEP borrowers at all stages of a mortgage loan.
A South Carolina tire factory owned by a global corporation received a substantial loan from the Small Business Administration for pandemic relief while many genuinely small businesses — especially those owned by people of color and women — were unable to access the program.
AFREF joined a letter to FHFA on the importance of accurate and reliable appraisals and putting in place safeguards to protect against improper valuations and racial discrimination.
On Feb 25, more than 145 organizations from across the United States sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, encouraging her to follow through on her promise to create a robust, well-staffed climate hub at Treasury led by a very senior-level person devoted full-time to climate.