Americans for Financial Reform

Letter to Congress: AFR and CFA Urge Congress to Protect Investors, Oppose HR 1675

” On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), we are writing to express our strong opposition to HR 1675, the “Encouraging Employee Ownership Act of 2015”. This legislation contains five provisions, four of which would significantly harm the ability of the SEC to protect investors. At a time when markets are turbulent and investment products are growing ever more complicated, Congress should not act to make financial markets even more dangerous for investors.”

Letter to Congress: AFR, 37 Organizations Oppose HR 766, Urge Congress Not to Give Banks a Free Pass on Fraud

“The undersigned community, consumer and civil rights organizations strongly oppose H.R. 766, the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act of 2015, introduced by Representative Luetkemeyer. The bill will hamper critical Department of Justice and banking regulator efforts to detect fraud and money laundering, putting consumers and financial institutions at risk of serious financial loss.”

Letter to Regulators: AFR Supports International Insurance Regulators in Targeting Activities that Create Systemic Risk

“Americans for Financial Reform (“AFR”) appreciates this opportunity to comment Public Consultation on Non-Traditional Non-Insurance Activities and Products (the ‘Consultation’) by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (the “IAIS”). We believe that improvements in insurance company regulation are necessary to address such systemic risks. “

Letter to Regulators:AFR Submits Comment on the De Minimis Exception to CFTC’s Swap Dealer Registration Threshold

“We commend the Commission and the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight staff for their work in compiling this Preliminary Report. We believe that the Commission should continue on the path laid out in the final rule and reduce the de minimis threshold to $3 billion after the $8 billion phase-in threshold terminates on December 31, 2017. We do not see sufficient evidence in the report to justify either maintaining the current level, or increasing it.”

AFR Statement: SEC Should Call Big Banks to Account for Unfair Dealings with Municipalities

“It is disappointing that the Commission has not already taken such steps. But a call from the people and the State of Illinois could and should spur the SEC to action to recover for the public big-bank gains that resulted from violations of their obligations to do business in a fair and transparent way with these public-sector clients. “

AFR In the News: Breaking Up America’s Big Banks is Key to Averting Future Financial Crises (Between the Lines)

“Cutting these big banks down to size would have a lot of positive impacts. It would lessen the political power of the financial industry, it would put government in a position [to] let a bank fail and let that bank be restructured to be a healthy entity and experience the consequence of its actions… There’s enormous amounts of money at stake and very complex and technical rules. The banks can fund a constant lobbying presence to hammer on all of these rules when often the general public might not even know these battles are going on, so it is a tough fight but I believe the public is on the side of stronger action.” — Marcus Stanley, Policy Director, Americans for Financial Reform

AFR In the News: Not much unites Democrats and Republicans. Anger at Wall Street does. (Washington Post)

“Eight years after the start of the Great Recession, and seven years since the Troubled Asset Relief Program was implemented, the anger at major financial institutions has only grown — in both parties…In 2013, a Reuters-Ipsos poll of more than 1,400 Americans found that just 22 percent approved of TARP — years after the banks had been stabilized. Last year, when Lake Research Partners polled on behalf of the progressive Americans for Financial Reform, it found 70 percent agreeing with the statement that ‘most people on Wall Street would be willing to break the law if they believed they could make a lot of money and get away with it.'”

AFR Statement: The State of Financial Reform

In his final State of the Union address, President Obama reminded the nation that “food stamp recipients didn’t cause the financial crisis; Wall Street recklessness did.” While he did not linger on the subject, the totality of his remarks made a strong case for measures to make the financial system safer and fairer. We agree about the need for such measures, and we laud the progress that has already been made. But, as we enter the final year of this administration, there is more that needs to be done.

Letter to Regulators: AFR Calls on SEC to Strengthen Liquidity Rule

We strongly support SEC action to improve oversight of potential liquidity issues in open-ended funds, and believe that the proposed rule should be adjusted in a number of ways to better achieve that end.

AFR in the News: Should We Break Up the Big Banks? (MSNBC)

“I think you need an all-of-the-above approach: you use the law that bears Barney Frank’s name, which requires the breakup of any bank that is too big to fail without harming the economy; you pass new legislation, the 21st Century Glass Steagall Act, which is a bipartisan piece of legislation – Senator Warren’s on it, and Senator McCain is on it. And then you need to involve the public and the grass roots in order to build this new voice that’s going to hold these people accountable.” — AFR’s Alexis Goldstein