Americans for Financial Reform

News Category: Press Releases & Statements

New Study: Bankers Dead Wrong About Effects of Bankruptcy Reform

In 2005, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA).  Consumer advocates strongly opposed this bill, warning that it was designed only to profit credit card companies while harming consumers.  A study ordered by Congress when the passed the bill has proven these advocates right, unfortunately. According to this summary (PDF) of

New Study Finds that Preemption Resulted in More Defaults and Riskier Lending

A recent study funded by the National State Attorneys  General Program at Columbia Law School found that federal action to exempt national banks from state anti-predatory lending laws resulted in more  defaults and riskier lending compared to other banks. At the same time, the study found anti-predatory lending  laws enacted by some to protect consumers

Former Bank Employee: Banks Give Homeowners the Runaround

One of many bank employees working with SEIU came forward to uncover predatory banking practices that harm consumers and communities. The bank executive spoke to ABC News on the condition that ABC News not show his face or name him, because he feared coming forward would cost him his job. Of the 1.1 million homeowners

LA Times: Whose Board is it?

One of the hot topics concerning the Senate Bill which passed the Banking Committee on Monday is the right of shareholders to influence decisions about their board of directors.  The LA Times published an Opinion piece explaining that shareholders need a bigger say to prevent companies from taking advantage of them. Lawmakers trying to avert

Take Action to Strengthen “The Restoring American Financial Stability Act”

Senator Dodd has released his financial reform proposal. AFR thanks Senator Dodd for taking this important step towards fixing our broken financial system.   It has been a year and a half since our economy crashed and the Senate must not wait any longer to act. (The House of Representatives passed a financial reform bill in

CFPB Must Cover Check Cashers and Payday Lenders

This information is courtesy of AFR member Consumer Federation of America. Payday Lending should be covered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau! Payday lending is predatory lending. Loans are extremely expensive, made without determination of ability to repay, trap borrowers in debt, and put a valuable family asset at risk. Loans based on a lender