“I think you could sort of look at this . . . as a signpost for the future,” said Mark Hays, associate director for cryptocurrency and financial technology at the consumer advocate group Americans for Financial Reform. “If things go wrong, a report like this is one of those things that you look back on to say, ‘What were the early warning signs?’”
“High overdraft fees make it harder for customers to be able to return back to a positive balance,” [said Christine Chen Zinner, senior policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform.] “It contributes to involuntary account closures, even from customers being blocked out of the banking system altogether.”
More than 40 organizations are urging the reconfirmation of Caroline Crenshaw for another term at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The presence of principled voices such as Crenshaw’s at the SEC is absolutely critical, especially when the incoming Trump administration has signaled its intent to break from the tradition of selecting candidates on a bipartisan basis.
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized new protections against overdraft fee abuses at the largest financial institutions, closing a decades-old loophole that allowed big banks to gouge their customers for an inexpensive service. The CFPB’s overdraft fee rule will reduce most overdraft fees from $35 per transaction down to $5, saving households in the United States $5 billion annually.
Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen along with 77 organizations and labor unions that advocate for racial, social, economic, and climate justice, wrote to urge Senate Majority Leader Schumer to confirm pending nominees for financial regulators and independent agencies like the National Labor Relations Board.
Today, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing with Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where lawmakers will hear testimony about the agency’s efforts to enforce and promote fairness, transparency, and competitiveness in the financial services that people rely on every day and hold accountable the Wall Street banks and financial predators that take advantage of vulnerable customers.
Statement for the Record On Behalf of Americans For Financial Reform Before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Hearing on “Consumer Protection: Protecting Workers’ Money and Fighting for the Dignity of Work” Wednesday, December 11, 2024 Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) appreciates the opportunity
While the crypto industry is hoping for a more friendly regulatory environment, Mark Hays, associate director for cryptocurrency and financial technology at watchdog group Americans for Financial Reform, warned that there are risks from this.
“Signs are mounting that the second Trump administration will try, like the first iteration, to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mission and capacity to safeguard the rights and wallets of families throughout the United States,” Americans for Financial Reform said in a statement last week.
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule to shield consumers from unscrupulous data brokers that sell sensitive personal and financial information, a vital step in both protecting online privacy and limiting fraud.