Americans for Financial Reform

News Category: Press Releases & Statements

AFR in the News: Progressive Groups Criticize CFPB Fintech Proposal (Politico)

“A coalition of 50 public interest groups today sharply criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to gut important consumer-protection rules, especially for fintech companies, arguing the agency does not have the authority to create potentially unlimited exemptions from the very regulations that the CFPB is obligated to enforce.”

News Release: Blankenstein Views Part of Mulvaney Agenda of Enabling Discrimination

Mulvaney chose Blankenstein as the policy associate director for supervision, enforcement, and fair lending. Under Mulvaney the CFPB has restructured the main office for fair lending, expressed interest in moving away from a key legal test for fair lending, and curbed enforcement of rules on predatory lenders that often target communities of color.

News Release: Fall 2018 Congressional Voting Record on Where They Stand on Financial Reform

Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of Congress have voted again and again for bills pushed by the bank lobby that are dangerous for our financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending. The report, entitled “Where They Stand on Financial Reform,” lays out how each lawmaker voted.

U.S. PIRG Report: Protecting Consumers One Year After Equifax

One year ago, Equifax announced the worst data breach in U.S. history, a breach that compromised the personal information of over 150 million consumers. Even though it has been a year since the breach, Equifax still has not paid any price for putting so many people at risk. Instead, the House Financial Services Committee is

News Release: OCC Headed in Wrong Direction with Plan on Community Reinvestment Act

The OCC proposal would dramatically limit the CRA’s effectiveness by distilling the complexity of the different credit needs of varied American communities to one numerical ratio and quantitative benchmarks, and would reduce public participation in the process that is fundamental to moving banks towards greater responsiveness to the needs of diverse customers and communities.