Statements and Press Releases Archives - Page 54 of 85

AFR Statement: Appropriations Bill Is Backdoor Financial Deregulation

“In addition to [a] dangerous and highly partisan rollback of financial regulations, the legislation takes aim at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that is succeeding at its job of making the consumer finance markets safer and fairer. The appropriations bill contains policy riders that would dramatically weaken the CFPB by making it the only bank regulator which does not have independent funding, and by replacing the CFPB’s single director with a five-member commission – a known recipe for gridlock.”

Letter to Regulators: AFR Calls on Department of Labor to Protect Retirement Investors

“This is a huge problem – one that, over time, can easily add up to a difference of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement savings. Under the current rules, some of the financial professionals offering retirement investment advice are legally bound to look out for the best interests of their clients; but other professionals, while perceived as having such a duty and clearly benefiting from the perception, are free to put their own interests first, even if that means saddling their clients with needlessly high fees or inappropriate risks.”

Press Release: More than 230,000 Petition Signers Support a Strong Fiduciary-duty Rule for Retirement Investment Advisers

With the rulemaking process moving into its final stages, the Department of Labor received a delivery today of petitions in which more than 230,000 signers call for action to protect Americans against self-serving retirement advice. The signatures were gathered by CREDO Action, MoveOn.org, Americans for Financial Reform, and Public Citizen. Ethel Sprouse, the former Mayor of Cedar Bluff, Alabama, accompanied the petition deliverers and told her story at the event.

AFR Statement: The Case for the “21st Century Glass Steagall Act” Is Stronger than Ever

Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Angus King (I.-Me.) have reintroduced their “21st Century Glass-Steagall Act,” which would restore the historic division between traditional (or commercial) banking world and the casino world of trading and speculating. Five years after passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the case for this bipartisan legislation is stronger than ever.

AFR Statement: A Breakthrough for Financial Consumers

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau went live today with an important new feature of its complaint database. For the first time, the public now has access to accounts of actual consumer experiences. We applaud the CFPB for taking this step, which will vastly expand the value of its complaint system.”

Joint Press Release: Mayors from 18 Cities Call for an End to Fire Sales of Distressed Housing Assets to Wall Street Speculators

Following the release of a report by the Center for Popular Democracy and the ACCE Institute detailing sales of troubled mortgages to faulty players, mayors from across the country are calling for mortgage owners and holders to prioritize the sale of troubled mortgages to good actors who can help homeowners struggling in the aftermath of the crisis.

Joint Statement: 78,000 Consumers Urge CFPB to End Forced Arbitration

In petitions gathered by AFR and five allied organizations, more than 78,000 consumers urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take swift action against the use of forced arbitration clauses in financial services and products. The CFPB is empowered by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to ban or limit this anti-consumer device in products under its jurisdiction.

Press Release: More than 13,500 People Tell the CFPB: Happy Birthday and Keep up the Good Fight

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray accepted delivery today of a set of birthday-card-style petitions in which more than 13,500 Americans express their support and gratitude for the Bureau’s efforts “to safeguard American consumers, families and communities against the deceptive and abusive practices of

AFR Statement: Forgetting the Lessons of the Financial Crisis

“As today’s [Senate banking committee] vote shows, a disturbing number of lawmakers are once again willing to act as shills for Wall Street and its discredited deregulatory agenda. But the sharply divided nature of the vote is heartening. Ten of the committee’s 22 members voted against the bill. Their continued support for Wall Street reform, along with the public’s support, makes it unlikely that this dangerous bill or anything like it will become law.”

Joint Statement: 58 Lawmakers Call for a Strong CFPB Rule on Forced Arbitration

In a letter to Director Richard Cordray, 58 lawmakers urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to use its Dodd-Frank authority to prohibit financial services companies from forcing consumers to resolve disputes in private arbitration instead of court. The CFPB should heed their call, four public-interest groups, including AFR, said today.