Statements and Press Releases Archives - Page 67 of 86

Press Release: Consumer Advocates Renew Call for Fully Functioning Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

“I want to draw attention to one of the biggest financial issues facing seniors and this country today – elder financial abuse and exploitation. Whether you call it a hidden epidemic or the Crime of the 21st Century, as some have, it is a serious problem that we need to address. The numbers paint a sobering picture. According to a study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, Americans over the age of 65 lost more than $2.9 billion to financial abuse and exploitation in 2010, a 12 percent increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008. …More disturbing is the $2.9 billion the MetLife study estimated represents only a fraction of all instances of financial exploitation against older Americans because elder financial abuse and exploitation is underreported.”

AFR Press Statement: News Reports of CFTC Budget Freeze

“News reports indicate that House-Senate conference committee is cutting the administration’s $308 million budget request for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) by one-third, to $205.3 million, a near funding freeze. This leaves the agency without the funding it needs to do its job and will make it impossible to implement key aspects of financial reform. This is not just a budget question: this is a question of whether Washington is serious about bringing oversight and reform to Wall Street at all.”

AFR Press Statement: Senate Banking Committee hearing on Empowering and Protecting Servicemembers, Veterans and their Families in the Consumer Financial Marketplace

We applaud Senator Johnson for holding this important hearing. In 2006, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a “Report on Predatory Lending Practices Directed at Members of the Armed Forces and Their Dependents”, which concluded that “predatory lending undermines military readiness, harms the morale of troops and their families, and adds to the cost of fielding an all volunteer fighting force.” In surveys conducted by DoD last year, personal finances ranked second on the list of causes of stress for servicemembers, second only to career concerns. Financial problems are now the top cause of revocation of military security clearances.

CFA Press Release: Oil Speculation on Wall Street Devastates Household Budgets on Main Street

Dr. Mark Cooper, CFA Director of Research, submitted the following statement for the record of the hearing on Excessive Speculation and Compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, being conducted by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, along with CFA’s recent report entitled Excessive Speculation and Oil Price Shock Recessions: A Case of Wall Street ‘Déjà vu All Over Again.’

Press Release: Reps. Maloney, Frank and consumer groups hail first 100 days of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Ranking Member of the full House Financial Services Committee, today hailed the first 100 days of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

AFR Press Statement: President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner Urged to Support Financial Transaction Tax

Today, Americans for Financial Reform sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary Geithner requesting that they “urge the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to examine a small levy on financial speculation as a revenue-raising measure.”

Conference Call: Private Student Loan Debts Highlight Need for Fully Operational CFPB

The Institute for College Access & Success and Americans for Financial Reform hosted a conference call with reporters and bloggers Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 12:00 PM EDT to discuss private student loan debt and what the impact of delaying the confirmation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director means for students and families. Listen to the replay.

AFR Press Statement: House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Regulatory Accountability Act and markup of the REINS Act

“Irresponsible deregulation of the financial industry – and the conduct it made possible – was a root cause of the financial crisis that has cost millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in home equity and retirement savings. The ‘Regulatory Accountability Act’ would further stack the deck towards Wall Street special interests, and make it impossible to put in place the common sense rules we need to demand transparency and accountability in financial markets, and prevent the financial industry from repeating the extraordinarily reckless practices for which most of us are paying so high a price.”

AFR Press Statement: CFTC Position Limit Rule

“Wall Street driven excessive speculation in commodities market has increased prices – and price volatility – for everyday commodities including oil and food. It is costing US consumers hundreds of billions of dollars, driving up costs and uncertainty for producers, holding back economic recovery, and causing increased hunger and privation in the poorest parts of the world.”

AFR Press Statement: October 12th House Agriculture Committee Hearing

Today’s House Agriculture committee hearing is a loophole festival for the big swaps dealers. The Committee is considering seven different pieces of legislation. Almost every one of them would carve a significant loophole in the new derivatives protections created by the Dodd Frank Act.