Category Archives: Statements and Press Releases

Blog: Tesla and the Case of the Dueling Financial Officers

In the wake of last weekend’s Tesla Takedown’s day of action at hundreds of dealerships across the country, financial officers on both sides of the political aisle weighed in on how to address Tesla’s tanking share price. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called for accountability from Elon Musk and Tesla’s board of directors;

News Release: OCC’s Retreat on Climate Risk at Odds with Economic Reality

Today, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its withdrawal from participation in the interagency Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions. The climate principles covered large banks with over $100 billion in assets and were released jointly in 2023 by all three federal bank regulators: the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

News Release: Trump Administration Reverses Lawsuit Against Egregiously Racist Lender

The Trump administration’s decision to reverse an already settled lawsuit against a Chicago mortgage lender over a pattern of failing to serve Black neighborhoods and egregiously racist conduct is an unprecedented attack on the nation’s laws against discrimination in financial services, according to a new analysis from Americans for Financial Reform. 

Blog: Trump CFPB Reverses Townstone Discriminatory Lending Settlement 

In an astounding first, the Trump-appointed leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has  requested that a federal court reverse a racial discrimination settlement that the agency had previously reached with Townstone Financial, a Chicago-based mortgage lender. 

News Release: Housing Agency’s Disregard for Growing Climate Risk Will Only Deepen the Housing Affordability Crisis

Tuesday afternoon, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte sent out a flurry of orders via tweets containing photographs of documents, including rescission of its Advisory Bulletin on Climate-Related Risk Management (Climate Risk AB)  and waiver of Equitable Housing Finance Plan (EHFP) requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises).

News Release: Senate Majority Betrays Consumers By Siding with Big Banks on Overdraft Fees

The Senate majority advanced the agenda of the nation’s biggest banks by voting for a Congressional Review Act resolution to roll back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) cap on sky-high overdraft fees. The CFPB safeguard would lower these charges at big banks from $35 to $5, saving families and service members across the nation $5 billion each year, or roughly $225 per household impacted by overdraft fees. 

News Release: Consumer and Investor Protection Organizations Denounce the Weakening of Shareholder  Rights by Delaware Legislature

The passage of Delaware Senate Bill 21 – the Billionaires’ Bill – endangers the retirement  security of millions of families across the country. A coalition of consumer and investor groups  including Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, and the Consumer Federation of  America opposed the legislation as did the largest retirement funds in the United States.