Americans for Financial Reform

Protect the CFPB: Fact Sheet

AFR submitted a comment on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule for Swaps Execution Facilities (SEFs). The Dodd-Frank Act gives the SEC authority over the trading of security-based swaps, such as the credit
default swaps that brought down AIG and helped trigger the financial crisis. The AFR comment criticized the proposal for not following the expressed intent of Congress that cleared security-based swaps be traded on open exchanges with transparent and competitive pricing. The current SEC rule would permit the continuation of swaps trading in opaque bilateral transactions. This type of trading helps big swaps dealers but is harmful to derivatives users and could increase systemic instability.

SEC-CFTC Funding Letter

April 5th, 2011 Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we urge you to support full funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Anything less would deprive these agencies of the basic resources they

AFR Statement on House Financial Services Subcommittee Hearing on Proposals To Weaken CFPB

The American public wants and needs an effective Consumer Bureau to prevent rip-off financial products laden with tricks, traps, and hidden fees. Abusive financial products take tens of billions of dollars a year out of our pockets, sending them to feed the inflated bonuses of a handful of Wall Street CEOs.

Durbin Amendment will help consumers

Durbin Amendment will help consumers Brad Griffin and Ronna Alexander (Helena-IR Your Turn – MT) April 1, 2011 “First, there are indeed many constituencies involved in the debate; in addition to “retailers,” many groups seek to have the rules implemented and not delayed as Sen.

Letter Opposing Kline-Foxx Amendment to FY 2011 Continuing Resolution

[Download PDF] The Honorable Harry Reid Majority Leader United States Senate S-221, Capitol Building Washington, DC 20510-0001 RE: Oppose the Kline-Foxx Amendment to the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution Dear Leader Reid: Thank you for your leadership in making college affordable for more students, especially low-

AFR Voices Support for Durbin Amendment in Letter to Congress

Read the pdf of our letter here. March 30th, 2011 Dear Senator/Representative: We write to express Americans for Financial Reform’s continued support for the Durbin swipe fee amendment which we supported and was included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The

AFR Statement on House Financial Services subcommittee hearing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: March 30, 2011 CONTACT: John Carey at 202-466-1854 john@ourfinancialsecurity.org AFR Statement on House Financial Services subcommittee hearing Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national and state organizations working together for strong financial reform, issued

AFR to CFTC: Establish Position Limits for Derivatives Market

Read the pdf of our letter here. March 28th, 2011 Mr. David A. Stawick Secretary Commodity Futures Trading Commission Three Lafayette Center 1155 21st Street, N.W. Washington DC 20581 Re: RIN 3038–AD15 and 3038–AD16; Position Limits For Derivatives Dear Mr. Stawick: On behalf of Americans

AFR Supports 953(b) – Calls for Disclosure of Executive Compensation

AFR wrote a comment letter supporting the requirement in Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act that companies disclose to investors the ratio of CEO pay to the compensation of the typical employee at the company. Existing requirements mandate disclosure of top executive compensation only, encouraging companies to focus unduly on peer to peer comparisons when setting CEO pay. Disclosure of CEO-to-worker pay ratios will encourage Boards of Directors to also consider pay equity within firms, top-to-bottom and not just at the CEO level. This information will also be useful to investors who prioritize pay equity as part of their investment decision. Rep. Nan Hayworth (NY) has introduced a bill to repeal this section of Dodd-Frank.

New York Times Editorial: Who Will Rescue Financial Reform?

March 27, 2011 Who Will Rescue Financial Reform? In what passes for self-restraint these days, House Republicans have been insisting that they do not intend to repeal last year’s Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Not in one fell swoop, anyway. A direct assault on Dodd-Frank would