Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: Fighting Financial Abuse in the Trump Era (Huffington Post)

“Amanda Jackson, who takes on powerful financial industry forces every day as the Organizing Manager for Americans for Financial Reform, says she’s drawing strength and inspiration from a surge of activism. ‘Trump is forcing people to be more conscious of problems that certain communities have been facing forever,’ Jackson told Inequality.org. ‘There’s no gray area anymore. Either you turn a blind eye to the problems or you answer the call to action. Fortunately, we’re seeing many people answer that call.’”

AFR in the News: Revised GOP bill would destroy the Consumer Bureau (LA Times)

“The Texas Republican shared a memo with other lawmakers last week outlining changes he plans to make to his so-called Financial CHOICE Act… Impressively, he’s managed to make a bad bill even worse… Marcus Stanley, policy director for the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform, said Hensarling’s revised bill ‘makes regulators even weaker than they were before the financial crisis…’ Score that a big win for financial firms after years of filling Hensarling’s pockets with money.”

AFR in the News: GOP would give Trump power over Wall Street regulation (CNN Money)

“‘This latest bill will wind up making regulators weaker than they were before the crisis,’ Marcus Stanley [of] Americans for Financial Reform… told CNNMoney. ‘It’s definitely a shift toward empowering the White House to micromanage consumer protections and enforcement actions.'”

Letter To Regulators: Department of Labor Must Not Weaken The Conflict of Interest Rule

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to express our support for the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) conflict of interest rule or “Fiduciary Duty” rule and our strong opposition to eliminating or weakening the rule. This rule strengthens protections for retirement savers

Letter to Regulators: Fifty-One Organizations Urge Trump Administration To Protect Investors, Preserve The Conflict of Interest Rule

“We, the undersigned 51 organizations, are writing to express our strong support for the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) conflict of interest or “Fiduciary Duty” rule and our strong opposition to eliminating or weakening the rule. This rule strengthens protections for retirement savers by requiring financial

AFR in the News: Banks and credit card companies really hate class actions – will Trump help outlaw them? (LA Times)

“Sometime in the next few weeks, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to impose stringent limits on the ability of banks and credit card companies to avoid consumer lawsuits. The financial services industry has been screaming bloody murder
‘We’re all preparing for a big fight,’ says Amanda Werner, who has been keeping an eye on the CFPB rule making for the consumer groups Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform.”

Letter to Congress: Enhanced Financial Protections for Small Businesses

“Small businesses are a primary driver of job growth and wealth creation in the United States, providing more than half the country’s jobs and two-thirds of net new jobs. …There is a strong and growing consensus that small businesses should have stronger federal protections in the financial marketplace. …The best agency to oversee protections for small businesses is the CFPB. The CFPB is the primary enforcer of the core statutes that protect borrowers and other users of financial services against misconduct.”

Letter to Congress: Thirty-One Organizations Call On Senate Not To Use “Economic Growth” As An Excuse for Deregulation

“We, the thirty-one undersigned organizations, are writing this letter in response to the Senate Banking Committee’s request for proposals to foster and improve economic growth. Our purpose in submitting this letter is to urge the Committee to reject any measures which weaken or remove controls

Policy Brief: Republicans’ Tax Plan is a Giveaway to Wall Street

“Wall Street banks are already expert tax-dodgers. According to Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy data, nine of the largest and most profitable U.S. banks paid an average federal tax rate of only 18.6% between 2008 and 2015–far less than the statutory rate of 35%. …Tax plans from President Trump and House Republicans would only make it easier for Wall Street to rig the tax code and avoid paying their fair share.”

AFR Statement: Hensarling’s New Deregulation Bill Is Worse than the Old One

“Rep. Hensarling’s revisions to his Wall Street’s CHOICE Act will make a disastrous bill even worse…This legislation doesn’t just repeal huge swaths of the Dodd-Frank Act – it makes regulators even weaker than they were before the financial crisis.”