Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: Wall Street’s big bucks in 2016 (Politico)

“Wall Street pumped $2.1 billion into the political process in 2015-2016, according to a new report by Americans for Financial Reform. Big banks, hedge funds and other financial giants contributed $1.1 billion to political campaigns in the last election cycle, and spent $898 million on lobbying in Washington. The report draws on a special data set AFR obtained. We don’t know how much ‘dark money’ that Wall Street put into American politics, so these are extremely conservative numbers.”

AFR Statement: House Bill Would Let Banks and Lenders Keep Ill-Gotten Gains

“The House passed legislation to effectively kill class action lawsuits, which are often consumers’ only chance to fight back against repeated corporate fraud and scams… ‘If this bill becomes law, those ill-gotten gains will instead be used to pad Wall Street’s bottom line,’ said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform… ‘H.R. 985 gives banks and lenders a license to steal and encourages more scandals like Wells Fargo’s fake account opening.'”

Letter to Congress: AFR Criticizes Securities Bill Package As Tilted to Wall Street

AFR sent letters to the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee regarding a package of securities bills up for a vote. AFR supports H.R. 1366/S. 484, “The U.S. Territories Investor Protection Act”, and opposes H.R. 910 / S. 327 “The Fair Access

AFR IN THE NEWS: Banks Spent Record Amounts on Lobbying in Recent Election (Reuters)

“Banks and other financial companies expecting big benefits from Republican-led deregulation spent record amounts on lobbying in the last election cycle… The financial sector spent $2 billion on political activity from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2016, including $1.2 billion in campaign contributions – more than twice the amount given by any other business sector, according to the study from Americans for Financial Reform.”

AFR Report: Wall Street Lobby and Campaign Cash Tops $2 Billion for 2016 Elections

During the 2015-16 election cycle, Wall Street banks and financial interests spent more than $2 billion to influence decision-making in Washington, according to a report released today by Americans for Financial Reform. That total, derived from an exclusive data set, works out to more than $2.7 million a day.

AFR Statement: Delaying Fiduciary Rule Is Betrayal Of Public Interest

The Department of Labor’s proposal to delay the fiduciary rule is clearly part of the Trump administration’s plan to undo it altogether. Blocking this common-sense, long overdue rule, which requires retirement advisers to act in their customers’ best interests.

AFR Statement: Trump Speech Obscures Agenda Favoring Wall Street

When it comes to the economy, unfortunately the President hasn’t drained the swamp. Instead, he is filling the government with Wall Street insiders who are now attacking rules put in place to keep big Wall Street banks and predatory lenders from ripping off consumers and prevent another disastrous financial crisis.

Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes HR 1009, Bill To Undermine Financial Regulators

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

AFR Policy Brief: FDIC Report Contradicts Claims That Regulation Has Harmed Lending, Bank Earnings

“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.”

AFR IN THE NEWS: The Problem with Trump’s Plan to Boost Wall Street: Banks are More Profitable Than Ever (Washington Post)

“’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. “