Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: Why Wells Fargo got away with it for so long (The Hill)

“How did Wells Fargo get away with it for so long? A big part of the story: Wells Fargo contract provisions blocked consumers from suing the bank in court. It’s past time to prohibit the “ripoff clauses” that prevent consumers from enforcing their most basic legal rights… The problem isn’t just that aggrieved consumers don’t have access to a remedy. Keeping cases out of court means abuses are kept out of the spotlight. That’s exactly what happened with Wells Fargo, and why the abuses could go on so long.”

AFR in the News: Wells Fargo scandal hurts Wall Street’s bonuses battle (Denver Post)

“If the regulators finish the rule soon, the Wells Fargo incident will be fresh in their minds. Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, is counting on Wells Fargo acting as a shield against bank lobbying. ‘I think it will make it more difficult,’ Stanley said. ‘What I’m hoping is that it’ll make it easier for us to lobby to make it tougher.’”

AFR in the News: Wells Fargo urged to clawback bonuses over fake accounts (Financial Times)

“Two top institutional shareholders in the world’s most valuable bank by market capitalisation have demanded answers over payments to Carrie Tolstedt, who headed the division where the episode took place… Brian Simmonds Marshall, ‎policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, said: ‘Those who are responsible for the misconduct should not be getting bonuses for costing their shareholders and their customers money.'”

AFR Statement: Delaying the lowering of de minimis threshold hurts oversight, protections for counterparties

We are deeply disappointed that CFTC Chair Massad has delayed by one year the lowering of the “de minimis” threshold that requires Swap Dealers to register with the Commission. The decision by the Chair means that many derivatives business will continue to operate for two more years without the new oversight Congress mandated they receive.

Letter to Congress: AFR, 23 Organizations Oppose Legislation to Undermine the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

“The undersigned consumer, fair lending, community and privacy organizations write to express our strong opposition to provisions included in the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 5983) that would severely undermine the effectiveness of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) consumer complaint database. We also oppose two similar standalone bills, H.R. 5491 and H.R. 5413 (the CFPB Data Accountability Act). “

AFR Statement: CHOICE Act would be an unprecedented blow to effective financial oversight

“This is not a serious piece of legislation. It is, however, a sad reminder of the Financial Services Committee’s apparent willingness, under its current leadership, to do Wall Street’s bidding with breathtaking disregard for the costs to consumers and to the safety of the financial system as a whole.”

Letter to Congress: AFR, 17 Organizations Urge Congress to Reject the CHOICE Act

“…we are writing to express our strong opposition to the “Financial CHOICE Act” (H.R. 5983) and to urge you to vote against this measure. Passage of this legislation would have a devastating effect on the ability of regulators to protect consumers and investors from exploitation and the economy from financial risk. It would expose consumers, investors, and the public to greatly heightened risk of abuse in their regular dealings with the financial system, and our economy as a whole to heightened risk of instability and crisis. “

AFR Statement: Wells Fargo Called to Account for Abusing Customers’ Rights

“As the consent orders highlight, Wells Fargo’s egregious violations of consumers’ rights were fueled by sales quotas imposed on front-line bank workers. These settlements underline the importance of strong consumer protection enforcement from federal and local regulators. They highlight the particular importance of attention to bank compensation practices, including the need to make sure banks are not pushing their employees to harm consumers and break the law by requiring them to meet otherwise unattainable sales goals.”

AFR in the News: Private Equity Tries to Chip Away at Dodd-Frank With House Bill (NY Times)

“The bill’s opponents — including [Rep. Maxine] Waters and the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform — question why Congress would undo some restrictions on private equity just as the S.E.C. was identifying problems in the industry. In particular, the opponents have raised concerns about a provision that would reduce the amount of information that large private equity fund managers report to regulators…”

AFR Statement: The CFTC must stand firm on derivatives margin rules

“At today’s meeting, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will rule on whether derivatives margin rules required by Japanese regulators are comparable to U.S. margin requirements… Japanese margin rules are significantly weaker than U.S. rules in several important areas. These include margin protections in case of the bankruptcy or failure of a foreign counterparty, and the types of non-cash margin accepted. Permitting U.S. firms to operate under these weaker rules would constitute an unacceptable back-door weakening of U.S. margin rules. We are concerned that such a comparability determination would set a precedent for permitting similar weakening in other jurisdictions and in other areas of derivatives oversight.”