Report: Private Equity and Hedge Fund Money in Politics in 2019-20

Wall Street private equity and hedge funds pumped at least $627 million into the political process – campaign contributions and lobbying – during the 2019-2020 election cycle. The sum, amounting to about $858,000 each day, reflects the meteoric rise in the size and scope of the private funds industry, which has come to control vast swaths of the American economy over the last decade.

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News Release: Treasury’s climate report light on specifics, regulators must go much farther, faster

The U.S. Treasury Department released its climate finance report on Thursday evening following a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) where members voted to approve the report. Though strong in some areas like climate risk disclosure and scenario analysis, the report largely highlights agency actions that are already underway, and it fails to lay out a comprehensive roadmap with specific recommendations and timelines for regulators to consider beyond the assessment and disclosure of climate risk, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and Public Citizen said. 

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Letters to Regulators: Letter to the Treasury/President’s Working Group on Stablecoin Regulation

AFREF submitted a letter to the Treasury today raising concerns that the President’s Working Group is considering recommending Congress create special bank charters to regulate stablecoins. We instead believe the President’s Working Group should clarify the existing authorities that each of the regulatory agencies have and call on those agencies to exercise their authorities now. We find this especially pertinent given the recent enforcement action brought Friday by the CFTC against Tether.