“’President Trump had a clear choice to make today between Wall Street and the rest of us,’ said Amanda Werner of Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen. ‘He chose Wall Street. But the rest of us will keep fighting to restore our rights so we can fight back the next time a company like Wells Fargo or Equifax tries to rip us off and get away with it.’”
“FHFA made a great decision,” said Amanda Jackson, AFR’s Organizing and Outreach Manager. “Knowing homeowners’ preferred language will help Fannie, Freddie, and mortgage servicers better communicate with their customers and avoid unnecessary – and sometimes devastating – confusion.”
“At the heart of the rule is the common sense principle that lenders check a borrower’s ability to repay before lending money. While praising the CFPB for pushing to stop the debt trap, the coalition calls on the Bureau to build on this progress by quickly working to develop regulations to protect consumers from abusive long-term, high-cost loans. Also, strong state laws, such as rate caps, must continue to be defended and enacted.”
“The financial crisis demonstrated that purely state-level oversight cannot fully address the potential systemic risks of our largest insurance companies. It was an ill-considered and reckless decision to remove AIG’s designation as a systemically significant financial institution.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s review of unfair and abusive overdraft practices is complemented by its recent efforts to limit the use of forced arbitration, said five consumer groups in a joint letter sent today to Director Richard Cordray. U.S. Senate leadership is pushing for a vote this week on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal a CFPB rule that restores consumers’ right to join together in court against banks and lenders.
On Wednesday, Republican Congressional leaders and the Administration released their tax framework. “This ‘plan’ amounts to a package of tax cuts for Wall Street and the 1%” …
Washington DC – On Tuesday, groups with the Take on Wall Street campaign made their voices heard outside a Senate Finance Committee hearing, opposing tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations, and demanding that tax legislation focus on closing loopholes and making Wall Street
“The vote [came] during the debate over the Financial Services and General Government bill, which funds some basic functions of the federal government, including the Treasury Department… Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) introduced an amendment to take this language out of the appropriations bill and continue to allow the CFPB to regulate payday lenders as it regulates all financial services businesses. The amendment failed with four Republicans joining Ellison to protect borrowers and three Democrats choosing to side with payday predators.”
“‘Wells Fargo used forced arbitration clauses and class-action bans to hide abuses and prevent its customers from securing justice or even realizing that problems the bank causes them are widespread,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘It now appears that they have also tried to hide the breadth of problems inside the bank, even in the face of direct questions from members of Congress. Leaders of the relevant committees should be demanding answers and further hearings to get them.’”
“This Wells Fargo case is yet another demonstration of the harm consumers will suffer if Congress chooses to repeal the CFPB arbitration rule and restore banks’ ‘Get out of Jail Free card.,” said Lisa Donner, Executive Director for Americans for Financial Reform. “It is also yet another reminder why lawbreaking banks are pushing for the rule to be overturned: blocking consumers right to go to court makes it easier for them to rip people off.”