Americans for Financial Reform

AFR Statement: House appropriations bill would “use backdoor means to achieve unpopular ends”

“In what has almost become an annual ritual, the 2017 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill set for mark-up in the House of Representatives today is packed with policy riders that would loosen rules, weaken agencies charged with protecting the public interest, and make it easier for Wall Street banks, shadow banks, and predatory lenders to take advantage of consumers and investors.”

Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes Current Draft of FSGG Appropriations Bill

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to oppose the current draft of the Appropriations bill on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG)…Unfortunately, this appropriations legislation is once again loaded with ideological policy riders aimed at weakening Wall Street oversight…These ideological policy riders would weaken consumer and financial protections and should not in any case be attached to a funding bill. Even as a funding bill, this legislation falls short, as it cuts the SEC’s budget by $100 million…”

AFR Statement: DOL retirement investment rule deserves Senate backing, not blocking

The Senate will vote today on a resolution to disapprove the Department of Labor’s rule requiring retirement advisers to put their clients’ best interests first. The principal sponsors of the Senate resolution – Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Mike Enzi of Wyoming

AFR Statement: Appeals court reopens the door to justice in LIBOR rate rigging

“Despite admissions of wrongdoing by major banks, the many victims of this fraud – from governments to pension funds to smaller banks – have yet to be compensated for their losses. With today’s ruling, they have a better chance to recover the money wrongfully taken from them by a group of the world’s largest banks.”

Letter to Congress: AFR Urges Congress to Maintain the Integrity of Financial Reporting, Reject HR 4139

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to reiterate our opposition to HR 4139, the “Fostering Innovation Act”. This legislation would double the length of the existing exemption from compliance with Sarbanes Oxley Section 404(b) for “emerging growth companies”, from five years to ten years… Ten years is an excessively long exemption. This is especially true given the significance to the public and the financial markets of accurate financial reporting. “

Letter to Congress: AFR, 42 Organizations Call on Congress to Preserve the CFPB’s Authority to Stop Abusive Financial Practices

“The undersigned organizations urge you to oppose H.R. 5112 or any similar bills that dramatically undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by eliminating its authority to prohibit abusive acts and practices and by imposing unworkable procedural requirements that would make it effectively impossible for the CFPB to write critical rules. “

AFR Statement: Study of car-title loans underscores need for payday rules

“Car-title loans, like payday loans, are often marketed as a source of short-term emergency credit; but they’re engineered, the CFPB’s research showed, to suck people into high-cost long-term debt. Only 12 percent of borrowers manage to repay their loans within the typical prescribed term of 30 days, according to the study, while fully 20 percent of borrowers end up losing their vehicles. The average borrower pays more in fees ($1,300) than the amount borrowed ($1,000).”

Letter to Congress: Don’t interfere with proposal to restore consumers’ class-action rights

“This rule is a crucial step to limit big banks’ and other financial companies’ efforts to escape liability if they break the law. Congressional or industry interference with the CFPB’s rulemaking process on forced arbitration would undermine consumer protection for critical financial products and services.”

AFR Statement: Skewed House hearing on arbitration

“Under the terms of the CFPB’s proposal, consumers and companies would remain perfectly free to resolve disputes through arbitration, but it would be a voluntary act on both sides. What the CFPB is seeking to regulate is involuntary arbitration, dictated and controlled by banks and financial companies through take it-or-leave-it contracts with consumers. More specifically, its proposal would bar companies from compelling consumers to sign away the right to join forces to challenge a practice that injures many people at once.”

Letter to Congress: AFR, 254 organizations oppose budget riders that would undermine financial reform

“We… urge you to oppose any funding bills that include provisions rolling back or undermining financial reform. At the end of last year Congress wisely rejected multiple efforts to use the budget process to force through unrelated ideological riders, including changes in financial regulation that would undermine consumer protections, endanger financial security, or reduce accountability for big banks. It is vitally important that members remain committed to opposing such riders again this year. “