We strongly disapprove of the new proposal to change rules for derivatives trading announced in today’s meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The requirement that complex derivatives be traded whenever possible in open, competitive markets was a crucial element of Dodd-Frank derivatives market reforms.
Today’s proposals to restructure capital and liquidity requirements for large banks represent the latest chapter in the gradual chipping away of post-crisis financial reforms. The proposals go well beyond anything required by Congress, and significantly weaken requirements for large banks to hold cash and easily salable liquid assets to satisfy payment requirements in times of economic stress.
The rule, which was years in the making, created vital protections for consumers of payday, car title, and some longer-term loans to ensure that predatory lenders don’t trap customers in unaffordable loans. Underlying the rule is the common-sense principle that lenders should consider whether borrowers have the ability to repay a loan before they risk their financial well-being.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund applauds the news that a court has rejected the for-profit college industry’s attempt to stop the 2016 Borrower Defense rule. Today, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia sided with students over Betsy Devos’s attempts to let abusive for profit schools rip them off with impunity.
The clearinghouse is a valuable resource that will improve the homeownership experience for Limited English Proficient (LEP) borrowers by making available all in-language resources in one centralized place, including translated loan documents, glossaries, and other educational materials. The clearinghouse will be helpful to lenders, housing counselors, attorneys, and other advocates assisting LEP borrowers.
El repositorio es un recurso valioso que mejorará el proceso de adquisición de viviendas para prestatarios con Conocimientos Limitados del Inglés (LEP, por sus siglas en inglés) al hacer disponible en un mismo sitio toda la documentación en un mismo idioma, incluyendo traducciones de documentos de préstamos, glosarios, y otros materiales educacionales. El repositorio será de utilidad para prestamistas, asesores de vivienda, abogados, y otros ayudando a prestatarios con conocimientos limitados del inglés.
The CFPB is exceeding its authority under the law that created the agency and would set a dangerous precedent with its “disclosure sandbox” policy, its label for granting companies exemptions from disclosure rules. The CFPB would allow firms to obfuscate or eliminate important information in the name of “financial innovation,” a label often applied to defend practices in mortgage lending that led to the 2008 crisis.
AFR joined a letter to the CFPB opposing their proposed policy to encourage trial disclosure programs.
We, the undersigned organizations, call on you to abandon your proposed reorganization of the
Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity, and to remove Mr. Eric Blankenstein from having
any involvement in the Bureau’s oversight and enforcement of antidiscrimination laws. We have
long voiced strong concerns about your plans to relocate the Office of Fair Lending, and our
concerns have grown even stronger in light of the shocking revelations about Mr. Blankenstein’s
writings on issues of race.
Mulvaney chose Blankenstein as the policy associate director for supervision, enforcement, and fair lending. Under Mulvaney the CFPB has restructured the main office for fair lending, expressed interest in moving away from a key legal test for fair lending, and curbed enforcement of rules on predatory lenders that often target communities of color.