“Public interest advocates in Washington want to turn former Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith into their poster child for tough new rules for Wall Street. …Public Citizen and the AFL-CIO are part of a coalition, Americans for Financial Reform, that is pushing regulators to crack down on financial firms. “
“But consumer advocates, watchdog groups and some economists are raising alarms. Taken together, the JOBS Act’s various provisions represent a dramatic rollback of financial regulations that date back to the Great Depression, they argue. It would reverse protections enacted with the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, some warn. ‘We’re all for channeling capital to small businesses,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘At the same time, we have banks for a reason, as opposed to people standing on the street corner taking shares in companies. So you’ve got to strike a balance.’”
AFR and CFA sent a letter to the Senate, urging their support of the Reed-Landrieu-Levin amendment which addresses many of the concerns that we have with the House JOBS Act, which the Senate has taken up.
INVEST in America Act (S.A. 1833) vs. JOBS Act (H.R. 3606) Reed-Landrieu-Levin Amendment Mar. 15, 2012 Seven Essential Fixes to the House Bill The House bill would allow companies to advertise risky, less-regulated, unregistered private offerings to the general public using billboards along the highway,
NEW YORK TIMES March 15, 2012 Paving Path to Fraud on Wall St. By FLOYD NORRIS Nearly 20 years ago, Bankers Trust was riding high. The bank, based in New York, had become known as an expert in then-newfangled derivative securities, and the profits were
“Echoing Volcker himself, Americans for Financial Reform said the rule is aimed ‘precisely’ at the problems Smith alleges, and should provide fighting power from a lobby movement to soften the rule. ‘It is crucial that regulators are not intimidated or overwhelmed by this well-funded effort, but instead move ahead to implement the Volcker Rule that Congress intended – a strong rule that truly changes the toxic culture of proprietary trading,’ the group said in a statement. ‘Smith’s statement today, along with the mountains of evidence from the financial crisis, demonstrates yet again how much we need a Volcker Rule that works.’”
“Advocates for tough implementation of financial reform are saying that a head-turning op-ed from a former employee of Goldman Sachs proves the need for strict rules on the financial sector. In a blistering piece published Wednesday by The New York Times, Greg Smith announced his resignation as an executive director at the firm, while offering a lengthy takedown of what it has become. He argued that under current leadership, Goldman had placed its own profit-hunting ahead of the well-being of its clients, who he said were called ‘muppets’ behind closed doors. …Americans for Financial Reform issued a statement saying Smith had ‘laid bare’ problems that ‘remain pervasive at our largest banks.’ The proper prescription? Tough implementation of the ‘Volcker Rule.’”
The resignation of Goldman Sachs executive director Greg Smith and the striking op-ed he wrote in today’s NY Times reveal once again that the problems laid bare in the 2010 Congressional hearings on proprietary trading remain pervasive at our largest banks. Congress passed the Volcker Rule as a specific response to these issues. Indeed, the Volcker Rule – which reorients banking culture to serving customers by banning proprietary trading and the conflicts of interest it creates – is aimed at precisely the problems Mr. Smith describes at Goldman Sachs.
Fund Democracy sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid, and Minority Leader McConnell supporting the CROWDFUND Act.
The AFL-CIO released an executive statement slamming the JOBS Act as a Wall Street scam.