Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: House Votes to Audit Fed and Deregulate Wall Street (Huffington Post)

Although the GOP is eager to expose the Fed’s dealings with big banks, it is equally anxious to dole out favors to financial operators… One deregulation bill, H.R. 5405, would exempt a significant swath of the market for derivatives — the complex financial products at the heart of the 2008 meltdown — from Dodd-Frank’s new trading rules. Americans for Financial Reform, the leading voice for Wall Street accountability on Capitol Hill, came out strong against H.R. 5405 and the other deregulation bill, H.R. 5461.

AFR, Public Citizen Urge SEC to Finalize CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio Disclosure Rule

A year after the SEC proposed a rule to implement a provision of Dodd-Frank requiring companies to disclose their employee pay ratio, no rule exists. There has been an overwhelming expression of support for pay ratio disclosure, and it is time for the SEC to finalize the rule.

AFR and 47 Organizations Support CFPB’s Proposal to Publish Consumer Complaint Details

AFR joined 47 organizations in supporting the CFPB’s work to make its complaint database public and accessible by consumers. This will help consumers make more informed decisions about how to choose the best products and services for their needs, and how to protect themselves from problems.

AFR Applauds CFPB’s Steps to Increase Fairness and Transparency in the Auto Lending Markets

AFR applauds CFPB steps to bring greater fairness and transparency to the auto lending market, which they did today by hosting a field hearing focused on auto finance issues. The CFPB also announced details on a proposed rule to bring auto lenders under its oversight; a crucial step toward creating a fairer and more transparent auto lending market for consumers.

AFR Opposes HR 4, Urges Congress to Protect Investors

AFR sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to reject HR 4, “Jobs for America Act,” focusing in particular on the portion of the bill that would roll back new registration and reporting requirements for private equity fund advisors that have already uncovered widespread abuses by the industry.

AFR Calls for Restrictions on Wall Street Executive Pay and Bonuses

AFR submitted a comment letter to federal regulators urging that they impose strong restrictions on Wall Street executive pay and bonuses to ensure that they do not create incentives to take inappropriate short-term risks. This should be made a critical priority, given the role of pay in creating the incentives that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

How Does a Do-Nothing Congress Occupy Its Time?

This week, with Congress’s most unproductive session in modern memory nearing an end, the House of Representatives will take up an array of measures to deregulate Wall Street – measures for which there is close to zero voter support. If all goes according to its leaders’ plans, the House will debate and approve three separate legislative packages containing dozens of proposals to reverse or impede the financial reforms adopted after the 2008 crisis, or to throw procedural roadblocks of a broader kind in the way of the already slow process of adopting financial as well as health, safety and environmental regulations.

AFR Joins More than 40 Organizations in Applauding Dept. of Labor’s Push To Protect Americans’ Retirement Savings

AFR joined forty four organizations in supporting the Department of Labor efforts to update and strengthen the protections that apply when individuals receive advice about their retirement investments.

AFR Policy Director, Marcus Stanley, Testimony Before the Senate Banking Committee

AFR’s Policy Director, Dr. Marcus Stanley, provided testimony before the Senate Banking Committee during a hearing on the examining of small depository institutions.

AFR Urges Congress to Reject HR 5405 and the Insurance Capital Standards Act of 2014

AFR sent a letter to members of Congress urging that they oppose HR 5405 and The Insurance Capital Standards Act of 2014. These pieces of legislation include numerous technical changes that could have significant impacts on regulators ability to enforce new financial rules, and they deserve full debate and consideration from regulatory experts before being passed under suspension of the rules.