Category Archives: Statements and Press Releases

News Release: Experts: U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Goldman Sachs Case Could Have “Devastating Consequences” for Investors, Market Confidence

Will the U.S. Supreme Court allow investors defrauded by Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis to have their day in court?  Or, will the Court rule in favor of Goldman Sachs and, in so doing, create a roadmap that publicly traded companies can use to make false and misleading statements that will harm Main Street investors and dramatically undermine market confidence by making it impossible for any investor to rely on the public statements of companies?

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Clean Energy Climate

News Release: Labor Department Will Not Enforce Rules that Impede ESG Investing

In a significant reversal, the Department of Labor (DOL) today announced they will not enforce the anti-sustainable investing rules that were hastily published in the final days of the Trump administration. The two rules, which went into effect in January 2021, would have made it much harder for retirement plans to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks into their investment practices.

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a dollar bill on top of a pile of money with scrabble pieces spelling out "tax" on top

News Release: Pass the Ultra-Millionaire Tax So Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share

Wall Street billionaires have escaped paying their fair share of taxes for decades, thanks to laws they themselves have had an outsize influence in shaping. This bill requiring the ultrarich to pay some tax on their wealth, which was too often accumulated through predatory business models that extracted wealth from workers and communities, is an important step forward for economic justice.

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the us capitol

News Release: Voting Record Highlights House Efforts to Protect Consumers and Hold Wall Street Accountable During the 116th Congress

Today, Americans for Financial Reform released a record of votes during the 116th Congress regarding consumer protections and Wall Street accountability. During the 116th Congress, the Democratic-led House of Representatives advanced a number of measures to strengthen consumer protections and to put in place enforcement tools to hold bad actors in the financial industry accountable for abusive, discriminatory, and fraudulent practices. 

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a series of houses

New Release: AFREF Statement: Consumer, Civil Rights, Housing and Small Business Groups Urge the Federal Reserve Board to Strengthen Community Reinvestment Act Framework with Focus on Increasing Equity in Bank Investments and Access to Sustainable Credit for Communities of Color and Low and Moderate Income Families

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) and 20 consumer, civil rights, small business, and other public interest partners submitted a comment letter to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB) on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

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Chairwoman Maxine Waters

News Release: AFR Praises Leadership of Rep. Maxine Waters at Helm of Financial Services Panel

AFR congratulates Rep. Maxine Waters on her renewed position as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, an important panel with jurisdiction over a broad range of issues with profound impacts on people and communities across the country. We are heartened that the committee will continue to be led by a champion of economic and racial justice, one who does not hesitate to call Wall Street CEOs and predatory lenders on the carpet when necessary to protect the public interest. 

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