AFR sent a letter to members of Congress, urging them to oppose HR 4167. If enacted, this legislation would advance the interests of a few Wall Street mega-banks in weakening implementation of the Volcker Rule ban on proprietary trading.
AFR joined ten organizations in sending a letter to members of Congress urging them to oppose HR 2892. If enacted, this legislation would bring changes to current law, exempting debt collection attorneys from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”.) This would effectively permit lawyers and law firms engaging in debt collection to evade essential requirements of the FDCPA which prohibit deception, unfair activities, and harassment against consumers.
AFR sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to oppose “The Customer Protection and End User Relief Act.” This legislation would place significant new barriers in the way of effective oversight of commodities and derivatives markets crucial to our economy, barriers not faced by any other regulatory agency. The new statutory ‘cost benefit’ restrictions it places on CFTC rulemaking would enable financial industry interests to indefinitely delay and possibly overturn regulations, even where Congress has clearly directed the regulators to act, and where regulation is sorely needed to protect the public interest.
AFR sent a letter to members of Congress, urging them to oppose HR 4167, which would exempt almost all collateralized loan obligations issued before January 14th from Volcker rule restrictions on bank sponsorship of external funds, allowing banks to continue to hold these instruments. Because managers of CLOs can buy and sell assets this would create a major loophole in Volcker rule prohibitions on proprietary trading.
AFR sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to oppose HR 2672. If adopted, this amendment would effectively create a petition process that would allow individuals who reside or do business in a state to apply for the designation of an area as rural (an area that has not already been designated as such). Areas designated as rural would be able to circumvent certain mortgage provisions put in place by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
115 organizations joined AFR in sending a letter to members of Congress urging them to reject HR 3193. This legislation would weaken the Consumer Bureau, prevent it from doing its job and instead serve the interests of the worst elements of the financial industry.
More than 215 organizations joined AFR in signing a letter in support of the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act. This crucial piece of legislation would protect homeowners who receive principal reduction modifications from devastating tax consequences is set to expire on December 31, 2013, just as the government’s recent settlement with JP Morgan Chase promises additional principal write downs. Congress must act swiftly to extend this legislation.
More than 75 organizations joined AFR in sending a letter to members of Congress urging them to reject HR 3193. This legislation would weaken the Consumer Bureau, prevent it from doing its job and instead serve the interests of the worst elements of the financial industry.
In a letter to Congress, AFR urges members not to let potential international trade and investment agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), undermine hard-fought gains in financial reform, and not to compromise U.S. sovereignty in ways that would limit our ability to take further steps to regulate the financial sector.
AFR and more than 15 public interest groups signed a letter calling for swift implementation of mortgage reforms.