AFR Comment Letter: AFR calls on CFTC to Require Margin for Derivatives
AFR calls on CFTC to require margin for derivatives.
AFR Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes HR 5471, Expanding Exemptions To Derivatives Rules
AFR sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to oppose HR 5471. This legislation would amend the Dodd-Frank Act to expand exemptions from derivatives clearing requirements for financial affiliates of commercial entities.
AFR in the News: Warren Dubs Weiss a Bank ‘Dealmaker’ Lacking Resume for Treasury (Bloomberg)
“Not every person who swoops in through the revolving door should be offered a top job without some serious cross-examination,” [Senator Elizabeth Warren] said in prepared remarks at an event organized by Americans for Financial Reform, the Economic Policy Institute and the Roosevelt Institute. “Qualifications matter, and Weiss doesn’t have them.”
AFR Letter: Mandatory Margin Requirements Needed for Uncleared Swaps
“Mandatory margin requires participants in the swaps market to take full account of the risks of their derivatives transactions and provide some level of advance provisioning for such risks. The availability of properly segregated margin is clearly of enormous value in case of the default of a swaps counterparty.”
AFR Letter: CFTC and SEC Must Act Against Derivatives “De-Guaranteeing” Ploy
“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), we write today to ask you to ensure appropriate regulatory oversight of derivatives transactions conducted through foreign subsidiaries of multinational Wall Street banks. In particular, we urge you to prevent the inappropriate classification of such derivatives as ‘non-guaranteed’ by the parent company, a classification which could exempt them from numerous critical derivatives regulations.”
Press Release: CFPB Proposal Would Expand Foreclosure Protections
Members of the Americans for Financial Reform coalition have argued that all homeowners should enjoy the same basic protections in their dealings with mortgage loan servicers. On November 20, the CFPB announced a set of proposed new rules that would bring that goal closer to
AFR in the News: Wells Fargo, PNC Draw Protest of Arbitration Clauses (American Banker)
“The activists hand-delivered protest petitions Thursday that, they said, contained 67,000 signatures. Arbitration clauses put consumers at an unfair disadvantage in disputes with their banks, the groups said… Consumer Action, Americans for Financial Reform, Public Citizen, the Other 98%, Alliance for Justice, the American Association for Justice and the National Association of Consumer Advocates helped organize the petitions.”
AFR in the News: After Criticism, Fed Will Study Wall St. Oversight (NY Times)
“Under pressure to show that it is up to the task of regulating giant Wall Street firms, the Federal Reserve issued a surprise announcement on Thursday that it would review crucial aspects of its bank supervision. The Fed asked its inspector general to look into whether top supervisors were getting the information they needed to make their decisions. The Fed also said it wanted the inspector general to determine if top officials were hearing all the opinions of Fed bank examiners.”
Press Release: AFR joins 8 Allied Groups and More than 67,000 People in Telling PNC and Well Fargo to Stop Using Forced Arbitration
“These non-negotiable terms are one of the ways that companies rig the financial system against consumers and avoid accountability. These terms deny customers access to courts should they seek to pursue legal claims against your company and deprive your customers of important legal protections. The result is that consumers cannot practically or fairly resolve disputes with you or
seek remedies for harm caused by your wrongful conduct.”
Letter to Congress: AFR and 8 Allies Warn Against Weakening Credit-Reporting Protections
AFR joined eight other organizations in sending a letter to members of Congress, urging that they reject HR 5446. The bill would exempt the big credit reporting agencies and debt collectors from coverage by the Credit Repair Organizations Act, which prohibits anyone offering credit repair services from engaging in fraud or deception. The exemption would make it easier for the companies to promote expensive and largely useless credit monitoring products.