“”The DNC chair describes Florida’s state law as a “model” for payday loan legislation. The director of the Campaign to Stop the Debt Trap at Americans for Financial Reform says otherwise, calling Florida’s law ‘a sham’ and pointing out that ‘it was backed by the industry.’”
“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing here to express our opposition to HR 4096, the “Investor Clarity and Bank Parity Act”, as it is currently drafted. HR 4096 would create a new exemption to Volcker Rule restrictions on naming practices for investment funds advised by banks or their affiliates. “
“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing here to express our opposition to seven of the bills under consideration before the Committee today… These bills all move in the direction of less accountability for Wall Street, which is a move in precisely the wrong direction. The financial crisis of 2008 – and continuing examples of financial sector malfeasance and irresponsibility since then — have made the need for more vigorous regulation painfully clear. Instead of working to eliminate consumer, investor, and systemic protections, the committee should focus on completing the job of strengthening them.”
“The undersigned organizations urge you to oppose HR 3798, the Due Process Restoration Act of 2015… HR 3798 would make it more difficult for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold companies accountable when they break the law – even as those same firms frequently deny basic due process to their investors and customers through forced arbitration.”
“The undersigned consumer groups oppose the Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk Act of 2015 (H.R. 2896) and amendments that will put consumers at risk from dangerous products or practices and undermine the established notice and comment process in place for financial regulations. “
“Robust whistleblower programs are crucial to overcome the fear and intimidation that stifle whistleblowers from coming forward. I spent seven years on Wall Street, and I can attest to the fact that financial firms are not interested in informing their workers of their whistleblower rights. “
“We, the undersigned groups, are writing to express our support for the “Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Nonretaliation (WARN) Act of 2016”, introduced by Ranking Member Cummings and Senator Tammy Baldwin. This common-sense legislation would provide updated financial incentives and stronger anti-retaliation protections for industry insiders who blow the whistle on bank fraud.”
“Racially motivated discretionary auto dealer markups are a growing problem in the industry. As you know, in dealer financing, the dealer works with lenders interested in buying the credit contract. While the lender’s rate is based on the buyer’s credit profile, the dealer is given the authority to increase that rate and keep some or all of the difference as compensation. The additional charge is included in the interest rate, making it invisible to the buyer.”
“Today the CFTC’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC) issued an end-of-year report highly critical of mandated position limits in the energy markets. The CFTC and the public should discount this badly slanted report, and the CFTC should re-examine advisory committee membership to ensure that the public interest is properly represented.”
“We oppose these efforts to roll back post- crisis reforms. It is particularly ironic that they are being advanced in the name of “increasing liquidity”. A central lesson of the crisis is that market liquidity can be excessive, and that such excessive liquidity leads to disastrous market crashes that have far more damaging liquidity effects than those that might be created by prudent limits on excessive leverage and risk-taking in normal markets.”