WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, 142 consumer, civil rights, military, legal services, and community groups submitted comments in strong support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed rule governing the overdraft lending practices of the largest financial institutions. [The National Consumer Law Center also submitted a longer, more detailed set of comments, which will be available here.]
Today, Sam Bankman Fried – known as SBF, the founder of crypto firm FTX; the once exalted face of the crypto boom, and now the poster child for crypto scandals – was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison, after being found guilty of seven counts of fraud in a jury trial last year. The presiding judge found SBF, in addition to his other charges, had committed perjury and witness tampering during his trial as well.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of 30 community, consumer, civil rights, and public interest groups has called on federal bank and antitrust regulators to follow several critical procedural safeguards that will help ensure proper review of the proposed takeover of Discover by Capital One. The coalition includes Americans for Financial Reform, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, the American Economic Liberties Project and Public Citizen.
AFREF joined Public Citizen and other organizations in a letter to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) urging the board to strengthen and finalize its proposals to update AS 2405, A Company’s Noncompliance with Laws and Regulations, and AS 2110, Identifying and Assessing Risks
Carter Dougherty, the communications director at Americans for Financial Reform (and a former reporter for The Times) … “With executive compensation linked to bank share prices, you realize the incredibly self-interested case that the bank lobby makes against more equity/capital: it lowers banker compensation.”
AFREF joined Public Citizen, The Sunrise Project and other partner organizations in a letter to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s in response to its consultation paper Disclosure of climate-related financial risks. “Of particular importance is information related to financed emissions, transition plans, and forecasts.
The $35 billion takeover bid would vault Capital One into 6th place among the biggest U.S. banks and create the largest U.S. credit card lender, ahead of current leader JPMorgan Chase. This new company could raise prices for cardholders, especially lower-income consumers and Black and Latine households and give Capital One the power to jack up debit card fees on merchants. In short, it would reinforce the megabank monopoly power that is already a serious problem in the American economy. The Biden administration must stand up for consumers, communities, and small businesses and block the Capital One-Discover merger.
Join us on March 14, 2024, at 1:00 PM, as we will examine the widespread harm that all businesses and investors would suddenly face if the Securities and Exchange Commission’s broadly accepted requirements for truthful disclosures and rules protecting investors are overturned by the courts. SEC rules are facing scrutiny in a number of ongoing legal cases.
AFREF led a sign-on letter in opposition to H.R. 2799, the Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2024, along with the 10 undersigned organizations. Fundamentally, H.R. 2799 weakens regulation of both the public markets and the private markets, making it a bad deal for investors of all types, and a boon to issuers interested in raising capital with the lowest possible degree of disclosure, compliance, accountability, and overall economic inefficiency.
Join us for a pivotal fireside chat on March 7, 2024, at 2:00 PM, on the pressing issue of reparations. “Reparations: How to Fund Them & Avoid a Wall Street Takeover” brings together thought leaders Jeremy Bearer-Friend (George Washington University Law), Alvin Velazquez (SEIU), and moderator Ericka Taylor (Take On Wall Street and Americans for Financial Reform) for an in-depth discussion on innovative funding strategies for reparations and safeguarding the initiative from financial industry exploitation.