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AFR’s Comment Letter Regarding Stable Value Contracts

Read AFR’s comment letter in response to regulators posing the questions of whether stable value contracts meet the definition of swaps in the Dodd-Frank Act, and, if so, whether they should be regulated as swaps or given an exemption. The letter points out that stable value contracts have the characteristics of swaps and also pose some of the same risks as swaps do. It does not take a specific position on whether stable value contracts should be subject to all swaps regulation, but does urge regulators to address these dangers by extending business conduct standards to issuers of stable value contracts and also to ensure that issuers of financial guarantees have sufficient resources to back up their promises.

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AFR Comments to SEC on International Derivatives Study

Harmonious international financial regulation is best achieved by the timely implementation of Dodd-Frank-mandated regulations for derivatives. Contrary to claims made by Wall Street and its allies, postponing the implementation of Dodd-Frank rules until the global community reaches a consensus on derivatives regulation would undercut efforts to achieve harmonious financial reform and expose American taxpayers to significant economic risk.

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AFR Statement on Leaked Details of Volcker Rule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     DATE: September 19, 2011                                   CONTACT: John Carey at 202-466-1854 john@ourfinancialsecurity.org             AFR Statement on Leaked Details of Volcker Rule Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national and state organizations working together for strong

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Questions Arise About UBS Risk Controls

Questions Arise About UBS Risk Controls Alistair MacDonald and Deborah Ball (WSJ – subscription required) September 16, 2011 “Risk-management and control specialists are again questioning the banking industry’s ability to manage risks and regulator’s efforts to police the sector after a UBS AG trader lost

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Global Standards Sought on Rules

Global Standards Sought on Rules Victoria McGrane (WSJ – subscription required) September 16, 2011 “Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a letter Wednesday assured Congress that the Obama administration and federal regulators are working with their international counterparts to see they adopt similar rules requiring market

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Delta One Desks Are Big Moneymakers

Delta One Desks Are Big Moneymakers Susanne Craig and Azam Ahmed (DealBook/NYT) September 15, 2011 “The $2 billion trading loss that has rocked the Swiss banking giant UBS has also cast a spotlight on a relatively unknown but increasingly profitable corner of Wall Street —

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AFR Statement on Markup of FY12 Financial Services and General Gov’t Appropriations Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: September 15, 2011            CONTACT: John Carey at 202-466-1854 john@ourfinancialsecurity.org            AFR Statement on Markup of FY12 Financial Services and General Gov’t Appropriations Bill Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national, state and local organizations