Read or download PDF version of the event’s agenda. Read U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) remarks on Trump Administration’s big bank rollbacks. Read or download PDF version of former Fed Governor Daniel K. Tarullo’s remarks “Taking the Stress Out of Stress Testing“ Video of the
Over the past two years, we’ve seen a lot of handouts to Wall Street but very little change for the better. Big banks got a massive tax cut and deregulation legislation right at the time they were making record profits. Ordinary Americans got a financial system that is less safe than it used to be, one that is an ever-more-powerful driver of inequality and economic vulnerability.
In just a few months the current economic expansion will be the longest on record. But an increasing number of economists are predicting that it might be nearing its end. In preparing for an eventual economic downturn, what should be done to avoid the policy mistakes that made the 2008-2010 recession so devastating?
The requirement in the Dodd-Frank Act that major dealers in financial derivatives be regulated as such, and meet risk management and business conduct standards, is a direct response to derivatives market abuses that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The loophole created by today’s Final Rule could permit large-scale evasion of this requirement.
This decision increases risks to the public. It is just one of numerous current and proposed deregulatory changes, to both the stress tests and other prudential requirements, which are currently in process at banking regulators.
On Tuesday, Senator Schatz (D-HI) and Representative DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Wall Street Tax Act, a bill that would tax the sale of stocks, bonds, and derivatives at a rate of 10 cents per $100 of Wall Street transactions.
AFR opposed twelve bills that would leave investors more vulnerable to harm and abuse, and make the nation’s capital markets less safe, and supported five of the measures that would improve disclosures or investor protections.
Today’s financial stability report from the Federal Reserve clearly documents that we are at or near the peak of an economic cycle, with inflated asset prices and strong lending growth leading to signs of excessive leverage in the corporate sector. The peak of the cycle is the time to strengthen financial safeguards, not weaken them.
Americans for Financial Reform sent a letter to the U.S. Senate opposing the “Taxpayer Protection and Responsible Resolution Act” (TPRRA), a legislation that gives special privileges to large financial institutions, encourages the continuation of “too big to fail”, and increases systemic risk.
View or download a PDF version of the letter. November 13, 2018 Dear Senator, On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), we are writing to express our opposition to HR 1667, the “Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act” (FIBA).[1] We strongly support the Judiciary Committee’s efforts