Americans for Financial Reform

Letters to Regulators: Letter to the SEC on Corporate Governance Implications of Securities Lending

AFREF sent a letter commenting on the Security and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule to increase the transparency and efficiency of the securities lending market. Having already commented in support of the proposed rule, we submitted an additional comment to address its corporate governance implications. The securities lending market—as it pertains to equity shares—has important corporate governance implications, as investors cannot vote shares on loan. In our comment, we recommend the Commission enhance the proposed rule’s public disclosures to give investors the tools they need to ensure the securities lending practices of asset managers and retail brokers do not interfere with investors’ role in corporate governance.

Congressional Testimony: Elyse Hicks, AFR’s Consumer Policy Counsel, Testifies Before the House Financial Services Committee

AFR’s Consumer Policy Counsel Elyse Hicks testified at today’s hearing in the House Financial Services Committee examining overdraft fees.

Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of the Overdraft Protection Act of 2021

AFR led a letter to the House Financial Services Committee in support of Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s Overdraft Protection Act of 2021.

Blog Post: Wall Street and private equity are “gobbling up homes,” driving inflation and exacerbating the housing crisis

In a House Financial Services Committee hearing from the beginning of March, both Representatives and witnesses discussed how Wall Street and private equity are causing housing prices to soar and driving inflation.

Letters to Regulators: Letter in Response to the CFPB’s Inquiry into Buy Now, Pay Later

AFREF joined a letter to the CFPB in response to their inquiry into Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) credit products that are proliferating across market areas.

News Release: The President’s Annual Budget Includes Critical Proposals That Would Pave the Way for a Just and Sustainable Economy

This morning, the Biden administration unveiled its annual budget, which includes a tax on households with wealth over $100 million, a 1% tax on stock buybacks, and a proposal for a three-year freeze on corporate executives selling their shares after a buyback.

News Release: Groups Urge CFPB to Treat “Buy Now Pay Later” Products Like Credit Cards and Protect Consumers from Harmful Practices

WASHINGTON – More than 75 consumer, housing, civil rights, legal services, faith, community, small business, student borrower, and public interest organizations submitted a joint comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) concerning Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) credit products. The groups are alarmed by the lack of regulation of this credit product, which is exploding in use, and urge the CFPB to view BNPL products as credit cards covered by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), to start supervision of this market, and to look out for practices that harm consumers.

News Release: SEC Issues Important Proposal on Climate Disclosure

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an important and thoughtful proposal to require mandatory climate financial risk disclosure from public companies. We look forward to commenting on ways that the proposal must be strengthened, in particular with respect to greenhouse gas emissions reporting and corporate climate-related impacts on communities.

Letters to Regulators: Comment Letter in Response to the SEC’s Proposal on Swaps/Derivatives/13-F

AFREF sent a comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission calling for the agency to close long-running loopholes that have enabled certain hedge funds to use swaps and derivatives to avoid disclosing large positions which in turn can lead to coordinated attacks on companies and unnecessary volatility in the underlying prices of certain companies’ stocks. The implosion of family office Archegos Capital is emblematic of such a problem as its use of certain derivatives to build over an over 10% position of a company’s outstanding shares were never revealed until after it was forced to unwind and leading Globally Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) to take over $10 billion in losses as a result.

Letters to Regulators: Comment Letter Supporting the SEC’s Proposal to Expand Position Disclosure Requirements via Form PF

AFREF sent a comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission supporting the agency’s proposal to expand position disclosure requirements (via Form PF) for both hedge funds and private equity funds. Many of the disclosure exemptions were formed when both types of funds were fractions of the size they are today and would give the SEC and by extension, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) critical information to prevent the uncertainty and threats to financial stability that we saw with Long Term Capital Management in 1999 as well as the financial crises of 2008 and March 2020.