Volcker Rule Costs Banks $1 Billion, U.S. Government Says – Silla Brush (Bloomberg)
“‘Only $50 million of these costs are these kinds of costs of government regulation,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of 250 groups including the AFL-CIO labor group and AARP. The cost ‘is very small compared to potentially making trillions of dollars in assets safer,’ he said in a telephone interview.’”
Lawmakers to Propose Transaction Tax for Financial Firms Modeled on Europe – Phil Mattingly (Bloomberg)
“The AFL-CIO and National Nurses United, a professional association and union for nurses, have scheduled a rally in front of the Treasury Department on Nov. 3 in support of the fee. Americans for Financial Reform…is circulating petitions in support of the measure.”
Obama To The Rescue On Federal Student Loans, But What About Private Loans? – Eva Pereira (Forbes)
“The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) aims to make the education lending market much more transparent with its KnowBeforeYouOwe project, but for those already knee deep private debt, there is little recourse. Several distressed borrowers shared their private loan struggles on a recent call organized by the Americans for Financial Reform, a consumer rights coalition.”
AFR in the News: 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 on Tuesday, October 25th to discuss private student loan debt and the impact of delaying the confirmation of a Consumer Financial
Eliza Newlin Carney (Roll Call)
“After weeks of waving signs and chanting with no clear policy objective, Occupy Wall Street protesters finally have an issue to rally around: a tax on Wall Street. Known in Occupy movement parlance as the ‘Robin Hood tax,’ taxes on trades of stocks, bonds and derivatives are getting a fresh look on Capitol Hill and may draw thousands of protesters to Washington, D.C., next week. Helping lead the charge are an unlikely breed of tax activist: registered nurses. … ‘There [are] people in the streets angry about economic inequality, and angry about what Wall Street has gotten away with,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, which supports both bills.
Dave Clarke (Reuters)
“The Volcker rule has created a new battlefield over Wall Street pay that banks fear will send their star traders and hedge fund advisers fleeing. … ‘The question is whether just saying that compensation arrangements cannot encourage proprietary risk taking is enough or whether they have to be more specific,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for the group Americans for Financial Reform.”
