View or Download PDF March 1, 2017 Dear Representative: On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to express our opposition to HR 1009, the “OIRA Insight, Reform, and Accountability Act”. This legislation would have a crippling effect on the regulation of our financial
“Hard data on bank earnings and lending should lay to rest any notion that financial regulations are holding back the American economy, or getting in the way of American banks making money. These claims are just an excuse to to dismantle hard-won protections for consumers and financial stability.”
“’Hard data on bank earnings and lending should lay to rest any notion that financial regulations are holding back the American economy, or getting in the way of American banks making money,’ Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform, said in a statement. ‘These claims are just an excuse to dismantle hard-won protections for consumers and financial stability.’
Since the financial crisis, the banking industry has largely thrived, according to the FDIC data. “
“In a July poll [commissioned by Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending], 79 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans said they supported the bureau’s mission. The election result doesn’t appear to have changed their views. In December, more than half of Trump voters opposed efforts to weaken the consumer agency.”
“Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition that supports tougher Wall Street regulations, said the delay was ‘clearly part of the administration’s plan’ to scrap the rule.
‘Blocking the common-sense, long-overdue rule, which requires retirement advisors to act in their customers’ best interests, would allow Wall Street to continue to grab more than $17 billion a year — tens of millions of dollars a day — from retiree savings,’ she said. ‘This decision is not justified by the facts, and it is a betrayal of the public interest.'”
“‘How long can industry lobbyists get away with saying Dodd-Frank has harmed lending and harmed profits in the banking industry when the numbers go completely the other way?’ said Marcus Stanley, a policy director at Americans for Financial Reform.
The increase included a 5.1 percent rise in commercial and industrial loans, a 7.5 percent gain in commercial real estate loans and a 4.8 percent uptick in residential mortgages, the FDIC said in its quarterly banking profile.”
The chairman’s opening move in this year’s budget debate might delight Wall Street, but it would make life harder and more dangerous for the rest of us. His plans would make it easier for big banks and predatory lenders to rip off their customers, and easier for Wall Street billionaires to crash the economy — again.
” ‘The Volcker Rule And Market Making In Times of Stress’ paper does not represent the official view of the Federal Reserve, and is not a Federal Reserve Report. …It is simply false to present this paper as demonstrating that the Volcker Rule has created market costs that exceed its risk reduction benefits.”
“AFR strongly supports measures to both limit and control risks of physical commodity involvement at financial holding companies. …Specifically, we support the new consolidated limits on the total size of commodity holdings, the capital increase to 300 percent risk weights applied to commodities held under 4(k), and more…”
“…The digital economy should ensure consumers can access and use records about themselves, and that consumers can choose to authorize third-parties to access such data on their behalf to support their financial health and facilitate competition among financial services providers.”