Americans for Financial Reform

News Category: Press Releases & Statements

CFPA and Nonbanks: A Snapshot

Our friends at the National Consumer Law Center have put together a great two-page report on the dire need for federal regulation of non-bank lenders.  The report focuses on the problems created by the current lack of regulation of debt collectors and debt buyers, credit bureaus, payday lenders, nonbank auto lenders, and for-profit colleges directly

Jeff Gelles on Why We Need an Independent CFPA

Columnist Jeff Gelles recently wrote this piece about the importance of creating an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).  He focuses on the way current regulators, specifically the OCC, failed to do anything to effectively protect consumers.  He speaks of one man’s trouble with abusive interest rate changes on an MBNA credit card and says:

AFR: Senators Merkley and Levin Work to Prevent Wall Street from Betting Our Savings

Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform released the following statement about the Protect our Recovery through Oversight of Proprietary Trading Act (or PROP Trading Act). Heather Booth, Executive Director, Americans for Financial Reform:  “AFR strongly supports Senator Merkley and Senator Levin’s bill to rein in the reckless speculation that has put Americans’ hard-earned savings

AIG, Greece, and the Problem with Derivatives

The New York Times recently posted this editorial about the connection between Greece’s financial problems and Wall Street and the need for better regulation of derivatives trading. As Greece has tottered on the brink of fiscal chaos, threatening to drag much of Europe down with it, Wall Street’s role in the fiasco has drawn well-deserved