Category Archives: Letters and Statements

CFPB

Letters: Letter Calling on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Drop Lawsuit Against the CFPB

AFREF led a letter calling on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the banking associations to drop the lawsuit against the CFPB that would allow them to discriminate against similarly situated BIPOC communities. The lawsuit focuses on the Bureau’s warning that the federal prohibition on unfair practices covers discrimination, and that the Bureau will be using its examination authority to look for and address unlawful discrimination in financial services, including in areas outside of lending, The CFPB was well within its authority to take these actions. Discrimination is unfair and unlawful, and it should have no place in our financial system.

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CFPB 2

Media Advisory: Standing Up for Consumers – AFR Hosts CFPB Director Rohit Chopra

For over a decade, AFR has supported the work of the CFPB, which has brought significant reforms and millions of dollars for consumers across the country. We also mobilized against the agency’s lousy leadership under the previous administration. Now, we are defending the CFPB after a recent right-wing court attacked its funding mechanism.

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In The News: Opening Salvo (Politico’s Morning Money)

Americans for Financial Reform is out with a blog post this morning blasting a coalition of big bank trade groups over their lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeking to reverse a new agency crackdown on discrimination in banking or banking services. They accuse the groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Consumer Bankers Association, of “trying to drag their disputes with CFPB into a more favorable arena, namely a judiciary with a strong pro-corporate, right-wing bent.”

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sign for the CFPB outside a building

Blog: Big Banks Argue Discrimination is Fair and it’s Not Satire

Ask a reasonable person if discrimination on the basis of race or religion is unfair. The odds are good – very good, according to this AFR poll, – that you’ll get a resounding “yes,” a polite “of course,” or even an incredulous “are you kidding?” Yes. Discrimination. Is. Unfair. But if you try to convince big-bank lobbyists that discrimination is unfair, you won’t get a “yes.” You get a lawsuit, with multiple awful lines of attack, that stands a good chance of succeeding. And that’s not satire.

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In The News: Explainer: What to know about ‘buy now, pay later’ (Associated Press)

Elyse Hicks, consumer policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, a progressive nonprofit, said people may not consider seriously enough whether they’ll still be able to afford payments down the road. “Because of inflation, people may think, ‘I’m going to have to get what I need and pay for it later in these installments,’” she said. “But are you still going to be able to afford the things you’re affording now six months from now?”

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News Release: CFTC Should Have Narrow Role in Crypto to Preserve SEC Primacy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans for Financial Reform and two leading financial regulatory experts, sent a detailed letter to the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, highlighting major shortcomings in a new bill, the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 (S. 4760/H.R. 8730).

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News Release: Coalition tells SEC Rules Must Stop Wall Street Greenwashing & Other Exaggerated Claims that Mislead Investors

More than 90 organizations—including the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) —submitted two comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today urging the agency to enshrine stronger rules for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing to stop the current practice of “greenwashing.”

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