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.

In The News: Book Publishing has a Toys ‘R’ Us Problem (The Atlantic)

“Based on terms granted to similarly rated borrowers, and on our analysis of Bloomberg data on recent transactions, Simon & Schuster would have to pay interest rates above 9 percent,” wrote Andrew Park, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform. “That would cost the publisher nearly $100 million, about 40 percent of operating income in 2022, on interest alone. In raw financial terms, the transaction will weaken Simon & Schuster the moment it closes, never mind what KKR does as an owner.”

In The News: What Is Private Equity and How Does It Work? (Teen Vogue)

Carter Dougherty, Americans for Financial Reform communications director, says the size and reach of the private equity industry’s financial influence is having an impact on the housing market. “Private equity firms have assembled big real estate empires, and that’s one of the things driving housing prices in this country,” he explains. “Private equities buy a large number of homes in a certain area, and they have the financial muscle to muscle out homeowners who want to buy for the first time or they raise rents on people who end up renting from them,” Dougherty added.

Media Conversation with Legal Experts to Preview Upcoming CFPB v. CFSA, at Supreme Court

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 2 pm ET, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) will host a press call 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). Sign up for the call at this link.

In The News: A People’s Prosperity (Yes Magazine)

“History clearly shows that unfettered growth in the name of capitalistic “success” results in sustained and growing inequality, human and planetary exploitation, and worse,” wrote Ericka Taylor, popular education manager for the Take on Wall Street campaign of Americans for Financial Reform. “Yet there are other models—many that come from Black, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized communities—that take a more holistic, symbiotic approach to growth.”

SEC Building

News Release: Several Organizations Commend SEC for New Private Fund Rules that will Better Protect and Empower Retirees

Several organizations today joined together to express support for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rule last week that would better protect retirees and savers from the lack of transparency in the $25 trillion private fund industry that has allowed it to overcharge its investors for decades.

The new rules from the SEC’s will require that private funds – primarily private equity and hedge funds – must disclose all their fees and expenses in a clearer, standardized fashion so that investors on behalf of retirees and savers more clearly see what they are being charged for, and can better use this new information to negotiate against their fund advisers or take their money elsewhere.

Event: Short Documentary on Private Equity, “OpenGate SHUTDOWN,” Screened at the SOGO Film Festival

The captivating short documentary “OpenGate SHUTDOWN,” produced by Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, took center stage at the SOGO Film Festival. On Aug. 12, Ricardo Valadez, the private equity campaign manager at Americans for Financial Reform, joined a discussion about the impact of the Janesville, Wisconsin-based Private Equity firm, OpenGate Capital, on Hufcor Inc. and the Janesville community.

News Release: AFR Calls for Proper Investor Protections in $2.5 Trillion Risky Debt After Court Ruling

Americans for Financial Reform is calling on Congress and banking regulators to address the repeated mishaps and losses in the $2.5 trillion syndicated “loan” market following a court ruling today. The 2nd circuit appeals court affirmed a lower court decision that syndicated loans are not securities and therefore banks are not liable for clear mis-statements and omissions when selling the debt to investors. The original case highlights the risky nature of the debt behind syndicated loans.