Americans for Financial Reform

News Category: Blog

Blog: Derivatives Exchange Gets Approval As Trading Brokerage

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has just gotten approval from the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to become the first exchange to buy and sell commodities with and for the same customers who trade on its exchange.

Blog: Navy Federal Credit Union Case Highlights Need to Lower Overdraft Fees

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered the largest credit union in the United States to stop charging its customers illegal overdraft fees. Navy Federal Credit Union has been ordered to refund $80 million back to its customers, many of whom are active duty servicemembers, veterans, and Department of Defense civilian employees. Additionally, the credit union must pay a $15 million penalty to the agency’s victims relief fund. 

Blog: A Crypto Coup? How Billionaires Are Threatening Democracy & Rewriting the Rulebook of American Politics

Crypto tycoons are storming into U.S. politics and attempting to reshape how we choose our elected officials. And the industry remains mostly controlled by a small group of very wealthy people even though fewer than one-sixth of people have ever owned any cryptocurrency. But crypto tycoons are pouring money into politics, aiming to bypass regulatory oversight, consolidate their power, and restructure American politics for their own benefit.

Blog: Rethinking Remittances 

Rethinking Remittances When Changing a Little Changes a Lot The United States is one of the top sources of remittances in the world, with $79.15 billion in remittances sent to family and friends outside the country in 2022 alone. Despite this huge volume, the costs of remittances remain alarmingly high. In the last three years,