“These are matters of vital public significance, and it is a sign of progress that they are on the public agenda for the 2016 election… In a number of important areas, however, the plan largely restates existing law or practice, or reiterates commitments that regulators have already made. As a totality it does not go far enough to address the scale and scope of the problems of our financial system. “
“Class actions, as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg explained in 1997, create room for “vindication of the rights of groups of people who individually would be without effective strength” to object to wrongdoing. Leaving consumers without “effective strength” is precisely the point of the class-action bans found more and more often in contracts governing student and payday loans, credit and prepaid cards, and other financial products and services.”
“The committee’s approval of these bills had not been in doubt. In fact, there had been speculation that in one or more cases, a substantial number of Democrats might join the Republican majority in their support. But that did not happen… HR 414 passed on a straight party-line vote, while HR 1090 won the backing of only a single Democrat… and HR 1266 just two… That qualifies as a victory.”
“Industry forces made a big effort to win more Democratic votes. But in the end, they fell short: the Financial Services Committee approved HR 1266, but in a largely partisan vote that dimmed its prospects for becoming law. With their hard push, however, the bill’s backers made it very clear just who is pushing for a commission instead of a single director, and why.”
“We urge you to reject any such proposal that weakens or delays these crucial protections, whether it is based on H.R. 1090 or a phony Wall Street ‘alternative’ to DOL rules. Instead, you should stand with your hard-working constituents saving for retirement who deserve financial advice that is in their best interest, no matter who provides it.”
“AFR once again calls on regulators to reconsider and end their sweeping regulatory exemptions for international derivatives operations of U.S. banks and to provide greater transparency to the public concerning the size and potential impact of such exemptions.”
“Runaway pay, repeated studies have shown, inhibits teamwork, reduces employee morale and productivity, and encourages executives to make dangerous short-term bets. The SEC heard from hundreds of thousands of people about this rulemaking; the messages and comments were overwhelmingly positive, and rightly so.”
CFPB Director Richard Cordray accepted delivery yesterday of a set of birthday-card-style petitions in which more than 13,500 Americans expressed their support and gratitude for the Bureau’s efforts “to safeguard American consumers, families and communities against the deceptive and abusive practices of big banks, cred card companies, and unscrupulous lenders.” The signatures were gathered by Americans for Financial Reform, National People’s Action, and the Center for Popular Democracy.
“With the package of bills it has scheduled for markup today, the House Financial Services Committee is threatening to take America back down the road of Wall Street deregulation — the road that led to the financial and economic calamity of 2008-09. While these measures deal with a range of financial practices and entities, most of them have a common theme: in one way or another, they would make it easier for banks, lending companies and other inside players to take advantage of consumers, homeowners, or taxpayers.”
“A funding measure approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday contains an outrageous sneak attack on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the reforms of the Dodd-Frank Act. The FY2016 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill incorporates the entirety of a 229-page financial deregulation bill – one that had been rejected by every Democrat on the Banking Committee, the proper venue for such legislation.”