AFR Statement: No Policy Riders on Budget for Benefit of Wall Street
Wall Street often seeks regulatory changes in budget bills, something the American public does not need. Any proposed changes to financial reform deserve an open debate.
AFR IN THE NEWS: Trump and Warren Are on a Collision Course (New Republic)
“‘Unlike other agencies, the CFPB’s complaint system is public and searchable,’ says Alexis Goldstein, a senior analyst with Americans for Financial Reform. ‘It’s become a great resource for anyone getting ripped off.’ Thirteen million Americans have used the CFPB’s education and training programs, and the agency routinely helps consumers force lenders to reduce or erase fees and overcharges. All told, the agency has chalked up nearly $12 billion in civil fines and consumer refunds for 29 million Americans defrauded by scams. It has returned another $8 billion to consumers by reducing predatory loans, or canceling them outright.”
AFR in the News: Trump’s choice for SEC could be busy with recusals (CBS)
“A financial disclosure report that Jay Clayton filed with the government reveals clients that pose potential conflicts of interest for the SEC job. They include financial industry powerhouses Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank, Barclays and UBS… ‘This is a sort of Who’s Who of Wall Street,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform… ‘I would think that this would force quite a lot of recusals…’”
AFR in the News: Wall Street’s big bucks in 2016 (Politico)
“Wall Street pumped $2.1 billion into the political process in 2015-2016, according to a new report by Americans for Financial Reform. Big banks, hedge funds and other financial giants contributed $1.1 billion to political campaigns in the last election cycle, and spent $898 million on lobbying in Washington. The report draws on a special data set AFR obtained. We don’t know how much ‘dark money’ that Wall Street put into American politics, so these are extremely conservative numbers.”
AFR Statement: House Bill Would Let Banks and Lenders Keep Ill-Gotten Gains
“The House passed legislation to effectively kill class action lawsuits, which are often consumers’ only chance to fight back against repeated corporate fraud and scams… ‘If this bill becomes law, those ill-gotten gains will instead be used to pad Wall Street’s bottom line,’ said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform… ‘H.R. 985 gives banks and lenders a license to steal and encourages more scandals like Wells Fargo’s fake account opening.'”
Letter to Congress: AFR Criticizes Securities Bill Package As Tilted to Wall Street
AFR sent letters to the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee regarding a package of securities bills up for a vote. AFR supports H.R. 1366/S. 484, “The U.S. Territories Investor Protection Act”, and opposes H.R. 910 / S. 327 “The Fair Access
AFR IN THE NEWS: Banks Spent Record Amounts on Lobbying in Recent Election (Reuters)
“Banks and other financial companies expecting big benefits from Republican-led deregulation spent record amounts on lobbying in the last election cycle… The financial sector spent $2 billion on political activity from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2016, including $1.2 billion in campaign contributions – more than twice the amount given by any other business sector, according to the study from Americans for Financial Reform.”
AFR Report: Wall Street Lobby and Campaign Cash Tops $2 Billion for 2016 Elections
During the 2015-16 election cycle, Wall Street banks and financial interests spent more than $2 billion to influence decision-making in Washington, according to a report released today by Americans for Financial Reform. That total, derived from an exclusive data set, works out to more than $2.7 million a day.
AFR Statement: Delaying Fiduciary Rule Is Betrayal Of Public Interest
The Department of Labor’s proposal to delay the fiduciary rule is clearly part of the Trump administration’s plan to undo it altogether. Blocking this common-sense, long overdue rule, which requires retirement advisers to act in their customers’ best interests.
AFR Statement: Trump Speech Obscures Agenda Favoring Wall Street
When it comes to the economy, unfortunately the President hasn’t drained the swamp. Instead, he is filling the government with Wall Street insiders who are now attacking rules put in place to keep big Wall Street banks and predatory lenders from ripping off consumers and prevent another disastrous financial crisis.