Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: Consumer Bureau Announces Groundbreaking Plan to Protect Americans from the Devastating Effects of Medical Debt

WASHINGTON – D.C. – Consumer advocates at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), Community Catalyst, Americans for Financial Reform, National Association of Consumer Advocates, RIP Medical Debt, U.S. PIRG, and Colorado Center on Law and Policy cheer today’s announcement that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a prohibition on the reporting of all medical debts on credit reports.

News Release: SEC Finalizes One of Two Important Anti-Greenwashing Rules

Washington, D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to finalize its “Names Rules,” proposed last year, is an important step towards addressing rampant greenwashing and other deceptive and misleading practices by investment funds.

Letters to the Regulators: Letter in Support of Proposed Revisions to the Suspended Counterparty Program

AFREF and the National Housing Law Project submitted a comment to the FHFA in support of their proposed revisions to the Suspended Counterparty Program.

News Release: Legal Experts on Supreme Court Case Threatening CFPB, Fed & Others

Americans for Financial Reform, the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the Center for Responsible Lending held a press call on Wednesday, Sept. 13, to preview one of the most important cases coming before the Supreme Court this term: CFPB v CFSA, a constitutional challenge to the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Oct. 3.

News Release: Antitrust Agencies Must Boost Scrutiny of Private Equity Buyouts

New merger guidelines should confront the powerful and often insidious role played by Wall Street private equity in fostering monopolization across the American economy, according to a letter submitted by Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. The letter, sent to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, outlines concrete steps that authorities can take to combat the anti-competitive influence that private equity buyouts have had on industries as diverse as health care, retailing, fast food, and automotive services.

Letters to the Regulators: Letter in Support of Proposed Merger Guidelines

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund sent a letter commending the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice for developing a robust, accessible update to the merger guidelines

Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023

Americans for Financial Reform sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee supporting the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023. The Credit Card Competition Act will introduce much needed competition in a captured market and benefit consumers.

Events: Alexa Philo, AFR’s Senior Policy Analyst, Testifies Before the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy

Increased capital requirements in the Fed, FDIC, and OCC’s Large Bank proposal strengthen the banks’ ability to withstand stresses that would otherwise imperil their financial viability and hurt depositors, customers and the economy. Robust capital levels prevent financial crises that have vastly disproportionate impacts on Black, LatinX and other underserved communities. AFR strongly urged the agencies to move forward on these proposals as more well-capitalized banks are better able to provide credit to customers and communities, advancing economic justice and helping the economy to work better for everyone.

In The News: Capital proposal could lead to a credit crunch, critics testify (American Banker–National Morgage News)

“We strongly disagree that new capital requirements will undermine credit availability,” said Alexa Philo, senior policy analyst, Americans for Financial Reform, after Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D.-Mass, asked whether the new rules could protect the availability of lending in a downturn.

Letters to Congress: Letter of Opposition to Four Anti-ESG Legislative Proposals

AFR sent a letter in opposition to four legislative proposals that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce is scheduled to consider at its September 14th Full Committee Markup. These bills’ amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) would undermine workers’ retirement security and are part of a broader political campaign against common sense investment practices. The campaign seeks to force financial actors to ignore a slew of financial risks regardless of the consequences for workers’ retirement security and the integrity of our financial system.