Americans for Financial Reform

Government Category: Comments & Letters to Regulators

Letter to Regulators: AFR Supports SEC Proposal to Restrict Derivatives Use at Mutual Funds

“… for many years the SEC did not sufficiently address the ways in which Investment Company Act restrictions can be violated through the use of derivatives. The SEC’s basic approach to derivatives risk at funds was set out in a series of releases and no-action letters between 1979 and the late 1980s. The fundamental approach adopted at that time was based on ‘offsetting’ or ‘coverage’ – that is, if a fund segregates assets deemed sufficient to ‘cover’ a derivatives risk, or an offsetting derivatives exposure, then derivatives usage would not violate ’40 Act limitations.”

Letter to Regulators: Regulators Must Not Weaken Dodd-Frank Regulations in the Regulatory Review Process

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing with regard to your current review of bank safety and soundness rules under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA) Notice #4 (December 23, 2015)… Reviewing these rules before they are finalized and while the process of implementation is still ongoing also carries the risk that the burden of implementation will be mistaken for the permanent effects of the rule.”

Letter to Regulators: Doing Better by Mortgage Applicants Who Are Not Fluent in English

“Allowing mortgage applicants to choose in which language they are most comfortable in communicating addresses a major problem of lenders and servicers working with limited English proficiency (LEP) populations and collecting this information through the URLA is the most comprehensive way to do so, because every mortgage borrower fills one out.”