Americans for Financial Reform

Letter to Congress: AFR and 340 Organizations Urge Congress to Support the CFPB

AFR and 340 additional organizations sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to oppose any efforts to dismantle, weaken, or change the structure of the CFPB, which was established by Congress to ensure that markets work in an open, transparent, and fair way for consumers. Failure to appropriately regulate the consumer financial marketplace was a central cause of the financial crisis that devastated the U.S. and global economies; the CFPB is a shining success story of the efforts to correct the mistakes and close the gaps that led to that failure. The letter urges members of Congress to support the CFPB in fulfilling its consumer protection mission, rather than undermine it.

Joint Letter: AFR Joins 15 Organizations in Supporting Low Income Families, Opposing HR 650

“H.R. 650 would not expand access to sustainable credit and would not serve the interests of homeowners and communities. Instead, this bill would undermine already vulnerable homeowners by stripping away protections created by Congress and implemented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

Joint Letter: AFR Joins 26 Allies in Applauding DOL’s Commitment to Fiduciary Rule

“As organizations that support strengthening protections for retirement savers, we write to thank you for sending a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to update and close loopholes in the 40-year-old rules that apply when individuals receive professional advice about retirement investments. Updating protections for retirement savers is urgently needed and long overdue.”

AFR in the News: How The Obama-Warren Retirement Security Plan Almost Got Strangled In The Cradle (Huffington Post)

“President Barack Obama unveiled a significant retirement security proposal with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday, announcing plans to bolster retirement accounts by curbing conflicts of interest on Wall Street… Obama’s decision to put political capital behind a new rule has encouraged many financial reform advocates. ‘It makes sense, it’s right and it’s important,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform.”

AFR Statement: AFR Welcomes Administration’s Call for a Strong Fiduciary-Duty Requirement

President Obama came down squarely on the side of working families when he announced his support for reforms to establish a higher standard for investment advice. Developed and championed by the Department of Labor (DOL), these reforms will update a set of 40-year old rules governing those who give advice affecting the investment of money in employee retirement plans.

Joint Statement: Major Groups Applaud President’s Call for a Rule to Protect Americans’ Retirement Savings

The seven organizations that launched the SaveOurRetirement.org campaign – AARP, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Americans for Financial Reform, Better Markets, Consumer Federation of America and Pension Rights Center – applauded President Obama’s public support today for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule to limit conflicts of interest, increase accountability, and strengthen protections for Americans receiving retirement investment advice.

Press Release: Petitions Urge Congress and Obama Administration to Back a Strong Fiduciary-Duty Rule for Retirement-Planning Advisers

In recent years, it has become more and more difficult for most people to save for retirement. At the same time, a great many hardworking Americans have missed out on tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential retirement savings by following the advice of financial professionals who, because of outdated rules, are allowed to put their own interests ahead of the interests of those they advise…

Joint Statement: Nearly 60,000 Consumers Tell the FCC: Don’t Allow Robocalls to My Cell Phone

Today, more than 58,000 consumers across the nation sent a united message to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC): Do not allow robocalls to cell phones without our consent. The message came in the form of a petition from a coalition of national consumer groups, including the National Consumer Law Center, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Americans for Financial Reform, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumers League, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG.

AFR in the News: Financial Reformers Counter Regional Bank Lobbying (PoliticoPro)

PoliticoPro reports that “financial reform advocates are ramping up lobbying against a push by regional banks to ease rules from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law.” While the banks argue that systemic-risk rules should be limited to a small group of the biggest and most complex banks, “Americans for Financial Reform says the failure of a large regional bank could be a big risk during a crisis,” writes Politico’s Zachary Warmbrodt.

AFR Briefing Paper: Myths and Realities of Large Regional Banks and the Dodd-Frank Act

In recent months there have been calls to roll back regulation of large regional banks – institutions that hold over $50 billion in assets but are not among the eight U.S. mega-banks with a global footprint. In response to unfounded claims about the treatment of large regional banks under the Dodd-Frank Act, AFR has sent a briefing paper to congressional staff as well as the press.