Category Archives: Statements and Press Releases

News Release: Fed Releases Inadequate Inaugural Climate Test for Big Banks

The Federal Reserve pilot climate scenario analysis to spur six major U.S. banks to evaluate their climate risks represents a necessary step towards getting these financial institutions to understand their transition risks and the severe physical threats on their residential and commercial real estate portfolios. But there needs to be a more assertive approach to how megabanks manage their climate risks.

News Release: OCC Should Follow CFPB Lead in Drawing Tough Line on Repeat Offenders

The nation’s big-bank regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, should help broaden and extend a crackdown on financial institutions that repeatedly violate the law – notably Wells Fargo – with all the tools at its disposal. Comptroller Michael Hsu is speaking on the problem of “too big to manage” today. The speech comes about a month after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Wells to pay $3.7 billion over widespread mismanagement of auto loans, mortgages, and deposit accounts, and promised to work with other federal regulators to find durable solutions to its constant violations of the law.

News Release: Banks Should Heed Fed Warning on Crypto Asset Risks

Washington, D.C. — The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators made the right call Tuesday by issuing a warning regarding the risks that crypto-assets pose to banking organizations. There is widespread volatility, fraud risk, legal uncertainties, unfair and deceptive practices, run and contagion risks, high levels of concentration and interconnections between firms, and poor risk management and governance found throughout the industry – all of which spells danger for investors and consumers alike. 

News Release: Congress Must not Give Private Equity Billionaires a Huge Tax Cut in End-of-year Budget Deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Private equity billionaires would be among the big winners from a corporate lobbying push in Congress to reap a windfall from a retroactive tax break in the omnibus bill now being crafted. Lobbyists and their many allies in Congress are trying to repeal new restrictions that took effect this year that limit how much corporations can deduct in interest payments on their debt.

News Release: Financial Services and Consumer Groups Support Senate Bill to Close Industrial Loan Company Loophole

Today, a broad coalition of financial services and consumer organizations expressed support for new legislation to close the industrial loan company (ILC) charter loophole, the “Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act.” The legislation, introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), prohibits shadow banks and nonbank commercial entities from taking advantage of legal loopholes. These loopholes allow these companies to control a full-service FDIC-insured depository institution without being subject to the comprehensive set of rules designed to keep the financial system safe.

News Release: Fed Takes Critical First Step in Managing Banks’ Climate Risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2022 CONTACT Carter Dougherty carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org  (202) 251-6700 Fed Takes Critical First Step in Managing Banks’ Climate Risk WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve today proposed climate-related supervisory guidance for major banks that represents an important and long overdue step to