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AFR Opposes House Bills That Would Weaken The CFPB

AFR sent a letter to members of the House Financial Services Committee today, urging their opposition to a series of anti-CFPB bills being discussed by the committee. The eleven measures under discussion would weaken the CFPB in a variety of ways and make it nearly impossible for the agency to do its job. The bills are part of a continuing pattern to mischaracterize the CFPB’s organization and processes, and if adopted, would harm consumers. The package of legislation being considered also includes a frontal attack on the Bureau’s authority to consider the impact of forced arbitration clauses on consumers—a bill that would eliminate consumers’ access to courts and force them into a rigged and secretive system to settle disputes.

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The House Financial Services Committee’s Latest Assault on the CFPB

Five-and-a-half years after the financial crisis, “the great majority of Americans still see a need for tougher regulation of Wall Street and the lending industry, and welcome the existence of a federal agency with a mandate to police rules of fair play in the consumer finance markets.

“At the House Financial Services Committee, however, a different view has taken hold. The big threat, many on that committee seem to believe, comes not from abusive practices in the financial industry, but from the agency that is beginning to do something about them.”

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AFR Urges Congress Not to Undermine Financial Regulation

AFR sent a letter to members of the House Financial Services Committee to stop interfering in the efforts of FSOC and OFR to collect data essential to analyzing potential systemic risk. The letter also states AFR’s opposition to HR 4387, legislation that could undermine the ability of our financial regulatory system to respond the kind of risks that led to the financial crisis of 2008.

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Five Years Down the Road, the CARD Act Is a Success Story

Consumer and civil rights advocates applaud the CARD Act’s success in saving Americans billions of dollars in predatory and excessive fees. By one estimate, the Act has saved consumers $12.6 billion; a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau identifies nearly $4 billion annual savings in fees alone.

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AFR in the News: Lawmakers’ Push for SEC/DOL Fiduciary Collaboration a ‘Tactic,’ Consumer Groups Say

“It’s absurd to suggest that DOL should step aside to wait and see” if the SEC acts, said Barbara Roper of the CFA. Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, added that Congress’ repeated requests for collaboration between the two regulators on their rules “feels like it’s a tactic, and is not grounded in either regulatory or statutory sense.”

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AFR in the News: Sheryl Garrett Scoffs at Argument Against Fiduciary Duty

“One investment adviser is sick and tired of the financial industry’s threat that mom-and-pop investors will suffer if investment-advice standards are raised,” writes Mark Schoeff of Investment News. At a media briefing in Washington hosted by the Consumer Federation of America, AARP, the AFL-CIO and Americans for Financial Reform, “Sheryl Garrett, founder of the Garrett Planning Network Inc., said that investors with low net worth can be served in a market where all financial advisers must act in their best interests.”

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AFR Opposes HR 2672

AFR joined five member organizations in sending a letter to members of Congress, urging that they oppose HR 2672, “The CFPB Rural Designation Petition and Correction Act.” This bill would amend the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to allow for increased opportunity for lenders to sidestep important consumer protections, including rules to ensure borrowers have the ability to repay their loans.