Category Archives: Statements and Press Releases

News Release: Consumer Bureau Announces Groundbreaking Plan to Protect Americans from the Devastating Effects of Medical Debt

WASHINGTON – D.C. – Consumer advocates at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), Community Catalyst, Americans for Financial Reform, National Association of Consumer Advocates, RIP Medical Debt, U.S. PIRG, and Colorado Center on Law and Policy cheer today’s announcement that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a prohibition on the reporting of all medical debts on credit reports. 

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News Release: Legal Experts on Supreme Court Case Threatening CFPB, Fed & Others

Americans for Financial Reform, the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the Center for Responsible Lending held a press call on Wednesday, Sept. 13, to preview one of the most important cases coming before the Supreme Court this term: CFPB v CFSA, a constitutional challenge to the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Oct. 3.

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SEC Building

News Release: Several Organizations Commend SEC for New Private Fund Rules that will Better Protect and Empower Retirees

Several organizations today joined together to express support for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rule last week that would better protect retirees and savers from the lack of transparency in the $25 trillion private fund industry that has allowed it to overcharge its investors for decades.

The new rules from the SEC’s will require that private funds – primarily private equity and hedge funds – must disclose all their fees and expenses in a clearer, standardized fashion so that investors on behalf of retirees and savers more clearly see what they are being charged for, and can better use this new information to negotiate against their fund advisers or take their money elsewhere.

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News Release: AFR Calls for Proper Investor Protections in $2.5 Trillion Risky Debt After Court Ruling

Americans for Financial Reform is calling on Congress and banking regulators to address the repeated mishaps and losses in the $2.5 trillion syndicated “loan” market following a court ruling today. The 2nd circuit appeals court affirmed a lower court decision that syndicated loans are not securities and therefore banks are not liable for clear mis-statements and omissions when selling the debt to investors. The original case highlights the risky nature of the debt behind syndicated loans.

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News Release: New SEC Private Fund Rules Can Help Stop Ripoff of Retirement Savers

Washington, D.C. – New investor protections announced today by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have the potential to curb widespread practices that have allowed Wall Street’s $25 trillion private fund industry to harvest tens of billions in fees at the expense of public pensions, retirees, and other savers – all to the advantage of some of the richest people in the world.

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News Release: Agencies Propose Basel III Endgame & Enhancements after 2023 Crisis

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency jointly announced on Thursday, July 27, a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement final components of the Basel III regulatory capital framework for Large Banking Organizations and introduce changes in response to the banking crisis of 2023. 

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News Release: House Republicans Voted Against Fairness for Small Businesses in Trying to Repeal the CFPB’s 1071 Rule

Washington, D.C.- House Republicans’ vote yesterday to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Section 1071 rule, which combats discrimination and increases transparency among small business lenders is yet another example of the agency’s opponents trying to undermine the work and efficacy of a popular agency, according to Americans for Financial Reform and a coalition of consumer advocates.

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News Release: Dangerous Crypto and Accountability Bills Clear Congressional Committees Despite Major Objections from Consumer Advocacy Groups, Labor Unions and More

Washington, DC – House Financial Services Committee passed a series of bills this week that create light-touch rules for cryptocurrencies, limit investors’ and workers’ ability to hold corporations accountable, and hamper regulators’ ability to meaningfully participate in international governing bodies that set global standards for our financial system.

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