AFR joined 27 organizations in signing onto this letter drafted by US PIRG urging the House Financial Services Committee to oppose HR 6743, a bill that replaces an existing narrow preemption provision with a sweeping provision that could not only eliminate all state data breach notice, data security and other privacy laws as they apply to financial institutions as broadly defined, but also forestall further state innovation to protect their citizens from future privacy and data security threats. One year after the Equifax breach, we are especially concerned that the committee is considering weakening data security and data breach laws, instead of strengthening them or passing legislation to make companies like Equifax more accountable to their victims.
On September 12, 2018, Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Economic Justice, the Consumer Federation of America, and US PIRG sent a joint letter urging Congress members to vote in opposition to HR 5059, the “State Insurance Regulation Preservation Act”. HR 5059 creates a new category of “Insurance Savings and Loan Holding Companies” (ISLHCs)
“Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would give him ample opportunity to weaken all independent agencies working within their Congressional mandate to protect the public, and thereby leave us all much more vulnerable to predatory practices as well as to actions that put the stability of the entire financial system at risk. We urge you to oppose his nomination.”
“The Proposed Rule is a brazen attempt to dismantle more than 20 years of borrowers’ rights to a defense to repayment on their loans when schools break the law. This dismantling will do nothing more than unleash a new wave of waste, fraud and abuse. This country teaches people that education is a path to a better life. For far too many years, allowing Title IV funds to flow to institutions engaging in fraud has turned this dream into a nightmare for their students. If the Department continues down this path of dismantling the right to a borrower defense, its legacy will be condemning students to lives full of poverty, while allowing executives of predatory proprietary institutions to become wealthy at their expense.”
“In fulfilling its vital mission to protect consumers from deceptive and unfair financial practices, the Bureau needs a Director who is a champion of consumer protection and an advocate for the rights of ordinary Americans against the predations of big banks and unscrupulous market actors. Ms. Kraninger has shown no track record and given no indication in her confirmation hearing or public statements that she would defend the interests of consumers. For that reason we cannot support her nomination.”
The de minimis exemption is a critical element of the swap dealer rule, as it determines which swap dealers will actually be designated as regulated swap dealers and subject to formal dealer oversight. This CFTC proposal addresses a wide range of issues surrounding this exemption. These range from the step-down from $8 billion to $3
