Letters to the Regulators: Letter to the SEC in Opposition to Private Credit Exchange Traded Fund

The Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund led a letter of 10 signers urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reject an application for a novel exchange traded fund (ETF) that would allow retail investors to invest in the $1.7 trillion private credit market. Several larger institutional investors have already taken losses in the private credit market and the letter warns how the presence of an institutional investment manager still fails to mitigate concerns around valuation, conflicts of interest, and suitability.

Statement: AFR Vows Renewed Fight Against Corrosive Wall Street Influence

Following the 2024 elections, Americans for Financial Reform will redouble our commitment to build a fairer, more racially just, and more inclusive economy and society. We must stop Wall Street from writing rules of the game that concentrate wealth at the top and make life more difficult and insecure for everyone else. People — across all parties and demographics — consistently and strongly support curbing Wall Street’s corrosive control of the economy and protecting families from the predatory and extractive financial industry. 

Letters to Congress: AFR Joins Nearly 80 Environmental Groups Calling on Sen. Schumer to Block Climate-Destroying Crypto Legislation

AFR joined nearly 80 environmental and public interest advocates calling on Majority Leader Schumer to prevent the consideration of deeply flawed crypto legislation being discussed in the Senate Agriculture Committee because it would worsen climate emissions. Crypto is highly energy intensive and has already buoyed fossil fuel power plants, extraction, and climate emissions.

Blog: Navy Federal Credit Union Case Highlights Need to Lower Overdraft Fees

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered the largest credit union in the United States to stop charging its customers illegal overdraft fees. Navy Federal Credit Union has been ordered to refund $80 million back to its customers, many of whom are active duty servicemembers, veterans, and Department of Defense civilian employees. Additionally, the credit union must pay a $15 million penalty to the agency’s victims relief fund. 

IN THE NEWS: Trump eyes pro-crypto candidates for key federal financial agencies (The Washington Post)

“It means that people are going to be more vulnerable to an industry that is rife with fraud, abuse, market manipulation and cyber-breaches,” said Patrick Woodall, the managing director for policy at Americans for Financial Reform, which advocates for stronger financial regulations. “This is an industry that is extremely volatile, where people take big losses, where market manipulation by insiders is very prevalent.”

Cryptocurrency

Event: Webinar on Crypto Companies’ Unprecedented Election Spending

On October 24, 2024, Americans for Financial Reform (w/ Demand Progress) partnered with Public Citizen to host a webinar entitled “Crypto Companies’ Unprecedented Election Spending.” The webinar featured commentary and analysis from experts and policy makers regarding the outsized spending by crypto billionaires and firms in this year’s election cycle, and the impact such spending has or may have on policy making and consumer financial protection.

Blog: A Crypto Coup? How Billionaires Are Threatening Democracy & Rewriting the Rulebook of American Politics

Crypto tycoons are storming into U.S. politics and attempting to reshape how we choose our elected officials. And the industry remains mostly controlled by a small group of very wealthy people even though fewer than one-sixth of people have ever owned any cryptocurrency. But crypto tycoons are pouring money into politics, aiming to bypass regulatory oversight, consolidate their power, and restructure American politics for their own benefit.