In The News: Albertsons wants to issue a $4 billion ‘special dividend.’ Critics call it ‘looting.’ (The Washington Post)
“Private equity firms have a long track record of being extractive — that is, extracting wealth from their portfolio companies,” said Carter Dougherty, spokesman for the Americans for Financial Reform, which advocates for regulation of private equity. “When you see Cerberus shaking $4 billion out of a company in a difficult industry like groceries, it’s not out of bounds to say this is yet another episode of industry abuses.”
Letters to Regulators: Comment Letter on the Federal Home Loan Bank System
AFREF sent comments calling on the Federal Home Loan Banks to substantially increase funding for the Affordable Housing Program, and enact executive compensation reform if the banking system is going to continue to benefit from significant public subsidies.
Letters to Regulators: Comment Letter on Fintech and Housing Finance
AFREF joined experts in the field in submitting comments calling on the FHFA Office of Financial Technology to ensure that new applications of fintech to housing finance do not violate consumer protections or fair housing violations. Specific recommendations are made to avoid algorithmic bias and e-signature fraud, along with a general principle of caution when approving new fintech practices.
In The News: Big Tech’s New Pitch: Digital Government Currencies (Barron’s)
“A CBDC format that has Big Tech running the back end is just another backdoor way for them to encroach on financial services,” says Mark Hays, a senior policy analyst with Americans for Financial Reform, a policy advocacy group that has been skeptical of CBDCs.
Media Advisory: Experts discuss judicial attempt to destroy CFPB funding
Remarks and Q&A with prominent legal experts on the extreme attempt by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn CFPB’s payday lending rule and destroy the funding mechanism Congress created for the agency, a step that threatens to unleash chaos in consumer finance markets and inhibit the agency’s work in protecting consumers.
Blog Post: Private Equity Set to Loot Albertsons Ahead of Proposed Merger With Rival Kroger
Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity owner of Albertsons grocery stores, is quickly moving to extract an unusually large amount of money from the grocer that would leave Albertsons in a much worse position to repay the massive debt load put on by its private equity owners. This move puts many of Albertsons’ workers and their pensions at risk.
Letters to Regulators: Letter Calling on HUD to Increase Affordability of FHA Insurance Mortgages
AFREF joined a letter calling on HUD to increase the affordability of FHA insurance mortgages by lowering the FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium by 25 to 35 basis points and ending the life of loan requirement on the FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums.
News Release: 5th Circuit Court of Appeal’s Decision on CFPB Funding is an Outrageous Undermining of Consumers’ Rights
On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, a three-judge panel in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the payday lenders trade association in ruling that the CFPB’s funding structure is unconstitutional because it does not go through Congressional appropriations. This line of attack toward the CFPB – via its funding – has nothing to do with actually caring about the constitution and everything to do with the big banks and predatory lenders trying to escape the oversight and enforcement actions of an agency focusing on protecting and defending consumers.