Cutting corporate tax rates, a main purpose of the tax proposals would disproportionately benefit big banks. Goldman Sachs is a dominant voice in the Trump administration thanks to appointees like Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn.
“Americans for Financial Reform… noted that the [Treasury] report followed recommendations from The Clearing House, a powerful trade association, in 31 out of 40 specific cases. In some instances, the language of the government and the language of the lobbyists was hard
to tell apart… ‘We’ve reached a point in this administration when big banks and private-equity funds have placed so many people in the top jobs, they hardly need to worry about lobbyists and trade associations any more,’ says Jim Lardner, a senior fellow at AFR”.
“By making the fiduciary duty commitment stronger and more specific, these Proposed Revisions to the Standards For Professional Conduct for Certified Financial Planners will enhance CFP client service and assure the public that CFP professionals will reliably act in the best interests of the investor. We strongly support their inclusion in the final revisions to the Standards, and urge the CFP Board to resist any pressures to weaken them.”
“This Wells Fargo case is yet another demonstration of the harm consumers will suffer if Congress chooses to repeal the CFPB arbitration rule and restore banks’ ‘Get out of Jail Free card.,” said Lisa Donner, Executive Director for Americans for Financial Reform. “It is also yet another reminder why lawbreaking banks are pushing for the rule to be overturned: blocking consumers right to go to court makes it easier for them to rip people off.”
“The Department of Education’s action today to eviscerate the Gainful Employment rule is a yet another example of Secretary Betsy DeVos working for wealthy for-profit college executives instead of students striving for a better life,” said Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst at Americans for Financial Reform.
“Consumer groups are invoking Wells Fargo as they seek to persuade a handful of Republican senators to help defeat a potential September vote on a resolution blocking the arbitration rule. ‘We’ve definitely pointed to Wells Fargo as pretty much the poster child for why we need this rule,’ Amanda Werner, campaign manager at consumer groups Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen, told Bloomberg BNA.”
“The issuer-pays model remains an incentive for raters to go easy on clients, says Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform… ‘As long as ratings agencies are both central to securities markets and face incentives to inflate ratings and mislead investors, they pose a risk to the financial system…'”
“A new U.S. rule aimed at restoring consumers’ ability to band together to sue financial companies has survived its first challenge, as a top banking regulator on Monday said he would not petition for it to be suspended… ‘The rule is a well thought-out response to the serious consumer harm of forced arbitration,’ said Brian Marshall, policy counsel for advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform.”
“We support the proposed rule but urge the Board to clarify that the presumption be limited to disputes between banks and recommend the Board require banks to maintain original checks for a specified period of time.”
“The burden of interpreting financial services jargon and communicating with lenders and servicers should not rest solely on borrowers. . . . Expanding access to language services throughout the mortgage process would begin to equalize a system that currently undermines the ability of LEP borrowers to understand the complexities of their future homeownership prospects and to protect their home after purchasing it.”