AFR joins 19 other organizations to express our opposition to H.R. 6392, the “Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2015.” This legislation increases the likelihood of big bank failures that could put at risk the economic security of millions of families.
“Far from improving systemic risk regulation, this legislation increases the likelihood of big bank failures that could put at risk the economic security of millions of families. It puts unprecedented new constraints on the ability of the Federal Reserve to provide basic oversight of large bank holding companies, including provisions that grant an unaccountable council of international regulators statutory powers over U.S. regulatory decisions. It would also politicize bank regulatory decisions, granting the Treasury Secretary of the incoming Administration new powers to pick and choose which big banks must follow basic safety rules.”
“‘Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump’s reported pick for Treasury Secretary, made himself enormously wealthy by cashing in on the country’s financial collapse,’ the liberal activist Take on Wall Street campaign said in a statement on Tuesday. ‘He purchased a bailed-out bank for pennies on the dollar and then aggressively foreclosed on tens of thousands of families.'”
“AFR is disappointed at the continuing extension of exemptions from swaps reporting for foreign dealers active in the U.S. markets. Some of the transactions to which this relief applies, such as transactions with supposedly non-guaranteed affiliates of U.S. banks, could be highly relevant to derivatives risks within the U.S. economy.”
“The budget is not the place to try to force through provisions that are dangerous to economic stability or to families economic security, would not pass alone, or that the President would likely veto. We strongly urge Members of Congress to oppose any flawed funding proposals that undermine the CFPB, the Dodd-Frank Act, the DOL’s conflict-of-interest rule, or other financial reform and accountability legislation or regulations.”
“[The] question is whether Dodd-Frank will be replaced or just torn down. If Republicans create a regulatory vacuum or simply allow the banks to write their own rules, [AFR’s Marcus Stanley] said, they will have gone too far. ‘It’s obvious that Dodd-Frank is going to come under severe attack both in Congress and the regulatory agencies,’ Stanley said… [T]he first question is going to be, What do you plan to do to actually address these Wall Street abuses? If the answer is, We’re not going to do anything … then that is something we are going to fight really hard on.”
“‘Trump ran an anti-establishment campaign focused on the economy,’ said Alexis Goldstein, a senior policy analyst for progressive nonprofit Americans for Financial Reform. ‘There was a huge focus on fighting for people who were left out. It’s already a betrayal of his supporters to staff up his transition team with hedge fund managers.'”
“A crucial element fueling the rage, in my view, was this: Not one high-ranking executive at a major financial firm was held to account for the crisis of 2008… The first inkling of whether Mr. Trump is truly on the side of Main Street may emerge when his administration sets out to change Dodd-Frank… ‘Are you going to return to the situation under Bush and Clinton where Wall Street wrote its own rules in the back room?” [AFR’s Marcus] Stanley asked. ‘Or are you going to put forward something that constitutes a genuine alternative and that will prevent Wall Street from rigging the economy?’”
“As Americans clearly understand, the rules of the game for Wall Street have a profound impact on our economic security, and too many people have suffered from policies that enrich a tiny few at the expense of millions. Republican, Democratic and Independent voters have said as much again and again, in polls and elections. In this election, supporters of both candidates were looking for more accountability for Wall Street. The country will be watching to see whether the new President and his Congressional allies make choices – about who to appoint and what policies to embrace – that can deliver that kind of change in the public interest.”
“While Trump bashed Wall Street throughout the campaign, the financial services industry is trying to figure out whether his victory, coupled with a GOP-led Congress, could open a path forward to easing regulations… Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform, said he expected to play defense on some issues but hoped that the populist pitch made by Trump during the election ‘wasn’t just rhetoric that gets forgotten when you come to DC.'”