Category Archives: Letters and Statements

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Joint Statement: New Bipartisan Poll: By a 3 to 1 Margin Voters Support Restoring Right to Consumer Class Actions and Ending Wall Street’s ‘Get-Out-of-Jail-Free’ Card

“A new national poll found that, by a margin of 3 to 1, voters strongly support restoring consumers’ right to join together to take legal action against banks and other financial services companies that break the law. With the House of Representatives set to vote today on a multi-agency appropriations bill with riders that would strip the CFPB’s authority to act on forced arbitration, voters of all political parties express majority support for federal action to restrict the practice. “

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Joint Letter: AFR and 7 allies call for crackdown on another private equity tax dodge

“Unlawful monitoring fee deductions… have been claimed by the private equity industry on an annual basis for many years… Hundreds of millions, if not billions, of tax revenue is lost each and every year of enforcement delay because of the statute of limitations. We hope and expect the IRS to actively, vigorously, and expeditiously enforce current law with respect to ongoing monitoring fee arrangements.”

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AFR Statement: AFR Statement for the Record on the Senate Banking Committee Hearing “Assessing the Effects of Consumer Finance Regulations”

“It is less than five years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established. Since then, the CFPB has fulfilled Congress’s vision of a federal agency with “the authority and accountability to ensure that existing consumer protection laws and regulations are comprehensive, fair, and vigorously enforced.”

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AFR Statement: The State of Financial Reform

In his final State of the Union address, President Obama reminded the nation that “food stamp recipients didn’t cause the financial crisis; Wall Street recklessness did.” While he did not linger on the subject, the totality of his remarks made a strong case for measures to make the financial system safer and fairer. We agree about the need for such measures, and we laud the progress that has already been made. But, as we enter the final year of this administration, there is more that needs to be done.

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AFR Statement on Final SEC Rule on Money Market Funds

AFR issued a statement on the final SEC rule on money market funds. AFR feels that these reforms are inadequate, and encourages the SEC to work with other regulators to address remaining systemic risks related to money market funds.

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AFR Statement on Nomination of Sharon Bowen to CFTC

“We are very concerned that [Sharon] Bowen, much like Tim Massad who has been nominated to be Chairman, lacks both significant experience in the derivatives and commodity markets that the CFTC oversees, and any public record as a champion of reform in these markets. We expect that Senators will have many tough questions to ask as they consider the set of CFTC nominations before them in the New Year.”