High cost “quick-fix” consumer lenders reported spending more than $15 million to influence Washington decision-makers during the last election cycle, according to an updated report (view or download full report here) released today by Americans for Financial Reform. The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) and Community Financial
In a new report, Americans for Financial Reform looks at what the 113th Congress did in 2013-2014 to advance or impede the cause of stronger regulation of the financial industry. AFR’s report, Where They Stand on Financial Reform (view or download PDF here), tracks a
Wall Street banks and financial interests reported spending more than $1.4 billion to influence decision-making in Washington. That two-year total works out to an average of $1.9 million a day or about $2.6 million to elect or influence each of the 535 members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
In recent months there have been calls to roll back regulation of large regional banks – institutions that hold over $50 billion in assets but are not among the eight U.S. mega-banks with a global footprint. In response to unfounded claims about the treatment of large regional banks under the Dodd-Frank Act, AFR has sent a briefing paper to congressional staff as well as the press.
A new report from Americans for Financial Reform finds that payday, car title and installment lenders have spent more than $13 million in campaign contributions and lobbying during the 2014 election cycle. The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) and Community Financial Services Association (CFSA) led the way, with combined
“Surveys show high levels of voter support for tougher rules; apart from the Senate’s confirmation of two notable regulatory officials, however, most of last year’s congressional votes on such matters were over efforts to reverse or water down reforms already enacted into law. And while some legislators resisted those efforts and continued to press for more industry accountability, many others – particularly in the House – threw their weight behind a series of proposals to weaken existing rules or to undermine the agencies charged with implementing them.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest report on payday lending reaffirms what the Bureau’s initial research showed a year ago: these ultra-high-cost loans, while promoted as a form of emergency credit, consistently lead to a cycle of debt. Even after paying substantial fees, many borrowers end up “owing as much or more on their very last loan as the entire amount they had borrowed initially,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray pointed out.
Late fees down by an average of $6; more people making above-the-minimum payments; far fewer young adults signing up for credit cards in the first place – these are some of the results of a landmark 2009 law, according to a new report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
View or download PDF. “Former employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) routinely help corporations try to influence SEC rulemaking, counter the agency’s investigations of suspected wrongdoing, soften the blow of SEC enforcement actions, block shareholder proposals, and win exemptions from federal law.”