Category Archives: Letters and Statements

Statement: AFR Condemns Overturning of Roe v. Wade

A decades-long campaign to overturn Roe vs. Wade has succeeded thanks to a hard-right turn by a Supreme Court packed with justices appointed by President Trump. The right to abortion is more than a medical procedure. Reproductive freedom is an element of economic justice, and the restrictions and bans that are not long in coming will surely fall hardest on Black and Brown communities. Congress needs to act quickly to secure this right.

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lawyer signing a document Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Letters to Regulators: Follow Up Comment to the SEC on Private Funds

AFREF sent a Follow Up Comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission expressing support for its proposals that would require private fund advisers to provide their investors with greater and more detailed information around the fees, expenses, returns, and bilateral investment relations (via side letters). We echo many of the comments the SEC has since received since its initial comment period and reflect how current market conditions make the Commission’s proposals especially a priority given the variation in the reporting and valuation of private market assets. 

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In The News: The Deep Roots of the Racial Wealth Gap—and How We Undo It

In the more than 150 years since the end of the Civil War, Black American wealth remains a fraction of that held by White Americans. Just after emancipation in 1865, African Americans owned 0.5% of national wealth. While closing this divide is essential to achieving racial equity in this country, it’s important that we apply the right tools for the job. We can’t properly solve problems without understanding their origins. The growing divide between White wealth and Black wealth is a product of economic systems designed to extract wealth from Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and redirect it to the wealthy, almost uniformly White elite.

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News Release: New Report and Consumer Alert Flag Deceptive Auto Repair Financing Practices

WASHINGTON – A report released today by the Stop The Debt Trap coalition finds auto repair shops across the country are offering predatory loans through EasyPay Finance and Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB Bank) that promise no interest if paid in 90 days but end up carry annual interest rates up to 189% – even in states where a rate that high is illegal. The report highlights some of the hundreds of complaints detailing deceptive and abusive practices concerning loans by EasyPay Finance, its parent company Duvera Billing Services, and Utah-based bank, TAB Bank, which helps EasyPay evade state laws. EasyPay Finance loans are available at auto repair and tire shops around the country, including at major chains such as AAMCO, Big O Tires, Grease Monkey, JiffyLube, Meineke, Midas, and Precision Tune Auto Care.

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In The News: Wall Street Braces for More Rules With Trump-Era FDIC Chief Gone (Bloomberg News)

“Having a Fed vice chair for supervision is crucial to a progressive agenda,” said Renita Marcellin, a senior banking policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, which has called for a halt on all bank mergers, more rules for cryptocurrency firms and a crackdown on the private equity industry. “There’s a lot more to do than simply repairing the damage caused by Trump regulators.”

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