As the Federal Reserve prepares new capital rules for American banks, Wall Street is rolling out its misdirection and bad arguments – as it has for much of the past decade – about why they should not be required to steel themselves against a crisis or downturn. And once again, regulators and Congress must be prepared to ignore their histrionics and strengthen capital requirements.
AFREF joined two letters – one to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Department of Treasury, and one to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – urging the Biden-Harris Administration to do more to relieve medical debt for tens of millions of people. The letters, signed by more than 60 organizations, include specific executive actions the administration can take to address medical debt.
The gravity of what will be a landmark Supreme Court case involving the funding of independent agencies has become increasingly apparent to observers of the judiciary. Numerous media reports have highlighted how the case, aimed at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, threatens to upend the funding for many federal agencies, above all the Federal Reserve.
In fact, says Carter Dougherty, the communications director of Americans for Financial Reform, the EU pushback against capital requirements is its own kind of subsidy.
AFREF and Demand Progress Education Fund submitted comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in response to the agency’s request for information regarding the risks, limitations and purported benefits of blockchain technology (including regarding central bank digital currencies), to help inform the government’s research and development agenda on blockchain. The submission raised concerns about the technological limits and risks of blockchain as used for both financial and non-financial applications, as well as a variety of risks, and urged the OSTP to take a more balanced and sober look at blockchain in view of these limitations.
Washington, D.C. – The Senate passed a resolution today to nullify a Department of Labor rule that protects workers and their life savings, following on the heels of yesterday’s House vote. President Biden has indicated that he will veto the resolution.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans for Financial Reform, the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, Consumer Action, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), the National Consumer Law Center, the National Fair Housing Alliance, National Housing Resource Center, and UnidosUS celebrate today’s decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), that will require lenders selling loans to the Enterprises to collect information on borrowers’ preferred language, as well as any housing counseling services they’ve used.
Washington, D.C. – The House vote to nullify the Department of Labor rule that protects workers and their life savings today is further proof that too many members of Congress will continue to do everything in their power to protect corporate interests—including fossil fuel companies looking to postpone the inevitable decarbonization of the economy.
Washington, D.C. – Commerce Department guidelines finalized today are a critical step in ensuring that public investment in chip makers is used for productive ends instead of squandered on stock buybacks.
Washington, D.C. — The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has accepted an amicus brief arguing that syndicated loans are risky debt instruments that pose “significant economic implications for families and communities” and must be regulated as securities, according to Americans for Financial Reform.