AFR in the News: Community Advocates Seek Better Data on Mortgage Relief
Without a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown, “it is impossible to measure the impact of the national mortgage settlement in any meaningful way.”
Municipal Finance: Preventing Exploitation of Taxpayers and the Public
Congress and the SEC need to stand firm in supporting the common-sense principle that all those providing financial advice to municipalities must put the best interests of taxpayers first.
More than 100 Watchdog Groups Demand Full Fair-Lending Compliance and Disclosure in National Mortgage Settlement
On Wednesday, March 27th, a coalition made up of 109 civic groups sent a letter to Mortgage Settlement Monitor Joe Smith and the Executive Monitoring Committee highlighting concerns with the slow pace of change on the ground for hardest-hit communities and the need for greater oversight.
Public Interest Groups Send Letter to Mortgage Settlement Monitor Expressing Concern for Hardest Hit Communities
AFR joined more than 100 public interest groups in sending a letter to the mortgage settlement monitor stressing the need for greater transparency to ensure the effectiveness of this settlement agreement for communities of color and other hardest-hit communities
Public Interest Groups Urge Extension of HAMP
AFR joined more than 30 national, state, and local public interest groups in urging Treasury Secretary Lew to extend HAMP.
Fair Housing Letter to Mortgage Settlement Administrator
March 27, 2013 Joseph A. Smith Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight 301 Fayetteville St., Suite 1801 Raleigh, NC 27601 Members of the Monitoring Committee Via electronic mail Dear Mr. Smith and Members of the Monitoring Committee: We write to follow up on your interim report
Public Interest Groups Oppose HR 797
AFR signed onto a letter to members of Congress opposing HR 797. This legislation would weaken accountability for financial advice to municipalities, harms communities, and is unnecessary given the exemptions that already exist in the law and the authority of the SEC to address any outstanding issues.
AFR in the News: Pressing the Case for Derivatives Reform
The Agriculture Committee’s bills would “enable public bailouts of swaps dealers, weaken the ability of regulators to control derivatives trading in overseas subsidiaries of Wall Street banks and establish a blanket exemption for derivatives transactions among the thousands of subsidiaries of global banks.”
AFR Letter and Talking Points on Senate Financial-Regulation Measures
AFR sent materials to the hill regarding various Senate resolutions and their impact on financial regulation.
AFR in the News: Fledgling Consumer Bureau Branches Out
Under huge pressure and intense scrutiny, the CFPB’s “execution has been pretty darned good,” says AFR ‘s Lisa Donner..