The proposed Capital One takeover of Discover would create a mammoth bank that would undermine competition, raise prices, and harm consumers. The merger would create the biggest credit card lender — holding nearly one-third of credit card loans to consumers with non-prime credit scores — and put Capital One in a position to use its market power to raise prices on virtually captive consumers.
Christine Zinner, policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, said the paycheck advance products “are nothing more than workplace payday loans, with consumers (being) more easily preyed upon since the money is only a tap away on a cell phone.” “People can easily become trapped in a cycle of debt by re-borrowing, requesting advances 12 to 120 times each year, just to pay basic household expenses and make ends meet,” she said.
Today’s interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Product Bureau on workplace payday loans (or the so-called Earned Wage Access products) will clearly label these products as loans, subjecting them to the laws, disclosures, and protections that consumers deserve if they choose products that are effectively high-cost loans. As a result of this proposal, companies offering these loans will have to follow basic rules such as the 55-year-old Truth in Lending Act to disclose the annual percentage rate of these loans.
Nike makes some of the most popular and expensive shoes — many pairs are around $300 — but behind the brand, thousands of women in South and Southeast Asia work for low pay to make Nike’s flagship sneakers. On July 16th, we joined women labor leaders in the U.S. who responded to the call from Asian garment workers, Global Labor Justice, and the Asia Floor Wage Alliance to demand justice for workers in Nike’s supply chain.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Funded joined with the National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America, and other advocacy groups to express our support for recent announcements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reflecting their intention to explore carefully-crafted pilot programs aimed at reducing closing costs for homeowners–specifically, a “title acceptance” pilot program.
AFR signed on to a letter urging leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to undo irresponsible funding cuts and reject the harmful riders in the Fiscal Year 25 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (FY25 CJS) Appropriations legislation passed by the House Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Subcommittee.
Today, President Biden acknowledged what too many Americans already know: the rent is simply too damn high and the public cannot continue to subsidize corporate landlords’ unlimited appetite for rent hikes through our tax code. By proposing to repeal tax breaks, like the depreciation write-off for corporate landlords who stick their tenants with rent increases above 5 percent, Biden is taking a vital step toward direct action to curb the corporate profiteering that contributes to the housing crisis.
AFREF joined Public Citizen and Sierra Club in a letter to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision responding to its Discussion Paper, The role of climate scenario analysis in strengthening the management and supervision of climate related financial risks. An excerpt from the letter reads:
The cryptocurrency industry’s lobbying efforts and hundreds of millions in campaign spending failed to generate enough congressional support to override President Biden’s veto of the Republican House’s effort to roll back Securities and Exchange Commission guidance designed to reduce the risks crypto assets can pose to investors and the market. Consumer protection advocates welcomed the vote as a good outcome for investor protection.
The Language Access Task Force of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of fair housing and civil rights organizations, applauds Wednesday’s announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposing rules that would ensure that borrowers with limited English proficiency (LEP) have a meaningful opportunity to seek assistance from their mortgage companies in times of distress, helping them stay in their homes. The proposal, which includes additional improvements to the general hardship assistance process, follows a petition from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) urging the Bureau to include language access in the mortgage rule.