AFR supports SEC rule proposals to strengthen protections for investors in private offerings, but urges the SEC to do more to reduce the risk of fraud and misleading practices.
AFR letter sounds the alarm against HR 1003, which would undermine Dodd-Frank by more than doubling the number of cost-benefit analysis requirements imposed on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Overseas affiliates of U.S. banks played a major role in the final meltdown of 2008-2009, at a cost of millions of jobs and trillions of dollars. Financial institutions must not be allowed to escape oversight by “off-shoring” their riskiest deals.
AFR and its member organizations warn against a proposal that would “severely weaken” the independence measures called for by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. “A Board dominated by employees of major banks and dealers with subsidiaries active in the municipal market will not be a truly independent Board.”
14 consumer organizations submitted a joint letter to the FTC supporting a proposal to ban telemarketers from using remotely created checks and remotely created payment orders, payment systems commonly used by scammers. The letter also called on the FTC to extend the proposed ban to cover all consumer transactions, not just those conducted via phone.
Under current practice, investors seeking brokerage and other financial advisory services must agree in advance to submit any complaints to arbitration by an industry-run regulatory body. The Investor Choice Act would restore the right of investors to take such disputes to a court of law, if they prefer.