We are deeply disappointed that CFTC Chair Massad has delayed by one year the lowering of the “de minimis” threshold that requires Swap Dealers to register with the Commission. The decision by the Chair means that many derivatives business will continue to operate for two more years without the new oversight Congress mandated they receive.
“The undersigned consumer, fair lending, community and privacy organizations write to express our strong opposition to provisions included in the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 5983) that would severely undermine the effectiveness of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) consumer complaint database. We also oppose two similar standalone bills, H.R. 5491 and H.R. 5413 (the CFPB Data Accountability Act). “
“This is not a serious piece of legislation. It is, however, a sad reminder of the Financial Services Committee’s apparent willingness, under its current leadership, to do Wall Street’s bidding with breathtaking disregard for the costs to consumers and to the safety of the financial system as a whole.”
“…we are writing to express our strong opposition to the “Financial CHOICE Act” (H.R. 5983) and to urge you to vote against this measure. Passage of this legislation would have a devastating effect on the ability of regulators to protect consumers and investors from exploitation and the economy from financial risk. It would expose consumers, investors, and the public to greatly heightened risk of abuse in their regular dealings with the financial system, and our economy as a whole to heightened risk of instability and crisis. “
“As the consent orders highlight, Wells Fargo’s egregious violations of consumers’ rights were fueled by sales quotas imposed on front-line bank workers. These settlements underline the importance of strong consumer protection enforcement from federal and local regulators. They highlight the particular importance of attention to bank compensation practices, including the need to make sure banks are not pushing their employees to harm consumers and break the law by requiring them to meet otherwise unattainable sales goals.”
“The bill’s opponents — including [Rep. Maxine] Waters and the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform — question why Congress would undo some restrictions on private equity just as the S.E.C. was identifying problems in the industry. In particular, the opponents have raised concerns about a provision that would reduce the amount of information that large private equity fund managers report to regulators…”
“At today’s meeting, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will rule on whether derivatives margin rules required by Japanese regulators are comparable to U.S. margin requirements… Japanese margin rules are significantly weaker than U.S. rules in several important areas. These include margin protections in case of the bankruptcy or failure of a foreign counterparty, and the types of non-cash margin accepted. Permitting U.S. firms to operate under these weaker rules would constitute an unacceptable back-door weakening of U.S. margin rules. We are concerned that such a comparability determination would set a precedent for permitting similar weakening in other jurisdictions and in other areas of derivatives oversight.”
AFR and 5 other organizations urge Congress to reject HR 5424, a dangerous bill that would allow private funds to evade SEC examinations, and to distribute misleading and even fraudulent advertising materials.
“We are writing to urge you to oppose H.R. 5063, which would categorically prohibit federal settlements from including payments or in-kind relief to third-party organizations or others who were not direct victims of a defendant’s illegal conduct… Passage of this bill would make it substantially more difficult for settlements to provide relief to reach those harmed by illegal activity. “
AFR calls on the Department of Education to inform all enrolled students and those who have recently withdrawn of their right to cancellation of their federal student loans, to vigorously investigate the past misconduct of ITT, and to release any findings publicly.