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Nearly 600,000 Americans Ask Senators to Support “21st Century Glass-Steagall Act”

“At the Capitol this afternoon [July 9], Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received petitions in which nearly 600,000 Americans call for action on the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act. This bipartisan bill, introduced by Senator Warren along with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Angus King (I-Maine), would address the problem of Wall Street banks that have become too complicated, too conflicted and too powerful, as well as simply too big.”

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AFR in the News: How Obama Can Rein in Wall Street Without Going Through Congress

“Wall Street’s relentless lobbying campaign pressured regulators to dial down some of the reforms, but the overhaul law still has a lot of strength,” Danielle Douglas writes in the July 3rd Washington Post. Her article goes on to quote AFR policy director Marcus Stanley: “The regulators have the statutory authority,” he says. “The question is whether they are going to use that authority.”

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AFR Statement on Final SEC Cross-Border Rule

“Overall, this rule is disappointing. It continues to leave a major gap in regulatory authority regarding the application of U.S. law to foreign subsidiaries of U.S. banks. Specifically, while the rule applies U.S. jurisdiction to cases where a foreign subsidiary’s swap counterparty has legal recourse to the U.S. parent bank for the performance of a specific swap, it does not extend jurisdiction to cases where the parent U.S. bank is implicitly or even explicitly committed to guarantee the subsidiary in general.”

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Background on the Financial Stability Oversight Council

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is a crucial part of the Dodd-Frank Act, and was created in direct response to weaknesses in our system of financial regulatory oversight revealed by the 2008 financial crisis. Recently questions have been raised concerning FSOC’s powers to designate non-bank financial companies for oversight, and the level of transparency for Council activities. This document reviews the reasons for FSOC’s creation, gives a detailed breakout of the steps in the FSOC designation process, and discusses the issue of FSOC transparency.

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AFR in the News: House Passes Bill to Aid Koch Brothers, Deregulate Wall Street

“The bill includes… measures sought by the largest Wall Street banks and the Koch brothers, who control significant financial and energy derivatives operations,” writes Zach Carter of the Huffington Post. “Americans for Financial Reform, the premier policy analysis organization among bank watchdogs, advocated strongly against the bill alongside consumer groups and the AFL-CIO.”

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AFR in the News: Liberal Groups Back ‘Operation Choke Point’

In CQ, reporter Ben Weyl quotes from a joint AFR/CFA/NCLC letter to Senators: “Fighting payment fraud should not be controversial. Everyone benefits from efforts to stop illegal activity that relies on the payment system.” As Weyl goes on to note, “Conservative activists and GOP lawmakers have accused the Obama administration of pursuing law-abiding businesses that cross the administration’s agenda, including gun sellers.” But the known investigations launched in the name of Operation Choke Point have all been directed at out-and-out-fraud.