Americans for Financial Reform

Joint Letter: Public Interest Groups Urge Financial Industry Leaders to Call a Halt to Anti-Investor Tactics of Trade Associations Seeking to Overturn DOL Protections for Retirement Savers

“Financial services companies that support giving retirement investors investment advice that is in their best interests should stand up against the aggressive anti-investor lobbying tactics of their trade associations seeking to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL) conflict of interest rule, according to three national organizations that have supported DOL efforts to strengthen protections for retirement savers.”

AFR IN THE NEWS: Consumer Watchdog Faces Attack by House Republicans (NY Times)

“’People know that financial companies were running amok, and that kind of behavior takes money out of people’s pockets and was the cause of a financial crisis,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘President Trump campaigned on standing up to Wall Street, and I don’t think his voters are looking for putting Goldman Sachs even more in charge.’”

Joint Statement: 104 Organizations Respond to Sen. Carper’s interest in exploring changes to CFPB structure

“With a single director at its head the CFPB is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. It has recovered $12 billion for over 29 million people. The only plausible reason to change it, after nearly 6 years of good work, is to stop that good work from happening. The banks and predatory lenders who are pushing this want to be able to abuse consumers with impunity. There is no good reason to enable them.”

AFR Statement: Attack on common-sense rules for prepaid cards

“The Consumer Bureau’s continued progress on making financial markets fairer and safer confirms once again how important it is to have an independent and effective regulator with a consumer protection mission. The rule making prepaid cards fairer and safer is one more example of ‘unrigging’ the system for the American people, and it should be left in place.”

AFR Statement: Trump Hands Financial Regulation Over To Wall Street

We can, and will, fight at every step against Wall Street burning it all down — again. And we’ll fight for a financial system that serves an economy that works for the rest of us.

AFR in the News: Maine robo-signing scandal resurfaces with Treasury nomination (Portland Press-Herald)

“‘Steve Mnuchin said his bank did not robo-sign. Now we have yet another round of evidence that it did,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘The public deserves clear answers, and all senators should be demanding them. We do not need, and they should not support, a Treasury Secretary who thinks the rules do not apply to himself or to his partners on Wall Street.’”

AFR IN THE NEWS: Trump Begins Assault on Dodd-Frank Financial Regulations (NY Times)

“‘The administration apparently plans to turn over financial regulation to Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs, and make it easier for them and other big banks like Wells Fargo to steal from their customers and destabilize the economy,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy group that supports Dodd-Frank. ‘That betrays the promises Trump made to stand up to Wall Street, and it will have dire consequences if he’s successful.’”

AFR Statement: Trump Turns Wall Street Regulation Over To Goldman Sachs

“The Administration apparently plans to turn over financial regulation to Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs, and make it easier for them and other big banks like Wells Fargo to steal from their customers and destabilize the economy. That betrays the promises Trump made to stand up the Wall Street, and It will have dire consequences if he’s successful. But the President does not have the authority to overturn laws or tell independent agencies what to do. And it’s flat-out illegal for the agencies to change rules by fiat without public input.”

AFR in the News: Doing Its Job – and Under Attack (Morning Consult)

“[The CFPB] has been fulfilling its mission, without letting itself be cowed by Wall Street or captured by revolving-door insiders. That’s why it’s under attack, and why it urgently needs to be defended.”

AFR Statement: Senators should oppose the nomination of Steven Mnuchin

“The majority on the Senate Finance Committee has chosen to ignore lies and evasions, to ram through a nomination in defiance of its own procedures, and to all vote YES despite both the known facts about Steven Mnuchin’s bank’s abusive and sometimes illegal foreclosure practices, and serious unanswered questions on this and other matters. The minority on the committee did the right thing in demanding responses before a vote, every remaining Senator should demand the same before a floor vote is scheduled, and they should vote no when it comes before them. The country needs a Treasury Secretary who will stand up for the public interest, not another representative of Wall Street in government.”