Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: Durable Support for Tough Wall Street Rules and Mission of CFPB

Ten years after Congress passed a major reform of Wall Street in response to the financial crisis voters overwhelmingly support more and tougher regulation of finance and they strongly approve of the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And, as the decade after the 2008 crisis unfolded to reveal continuing abuses by Wall Street, and the growth of predatory financial practices, notably by private equity, the public’s appetite for additional reform has strengthened. And the results underscore the need for rigorous oversight to ensure consumers aren’t victimized by unscrupulous lending practices.

Polling Memo: Voters Support Strong Consumer Financial Protections and Tough Regulation of Wall Street

Voters across all political parties are broadly and intensely supportive of strong consumer financial protections and of tough regulation of the financial services industry. This sentiment extends not only to keeping existing measures in place but expanding on what Congress did a decade ago, and has proved durable throughout the period since the 2008 financial crisis, through the weak recovery that followed and into the searing recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fact Sheet: Real Estate Tycoons Benefit from Billions in Tax Breaks

The federal tax code includes many tax breaks and loopholes that provide tremendous cash benefits to real estate investors, developers, and corporate landlords. Closing these loopholes would generate billions of dollars in revenue.

Letters to Regulators: Joint Letter Asking CFPB to Rescind Guidance Allowing Credit Reporting Agencies to Ignore Statutory Deadlines

AFR joined our partners in calling on the CFPB to rescind its guidance allowing credit reporting agencies and furnishers to disregard statutory deadlines.

Statement: Mourning the Passing of Justice Ginsburg

AFR joins the world in mourning the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a trailblazing jurist whose work contributed immensely to gender equality and to progress towards a more just society.

Statement: Statement on SEC Rule on Shareholder Proposals

With this new rule, the SEC is undermining the ability of investors to use the shareholder proposal process to call companies to task on their failures to behave responsibly. Now, it will be much more expensive for small investors to submit shareholder proposals. It will be harder for them to resubmit proposals — a frequent practice — because of higher resubmission thresholds. It’s a gift of new power to irresponsible management and a blow to the cause of corporate accountability.

Letters to Regulators: Comments on FDIC RFI on standard setting for fintechs

AFREF and Demand Progress submitted comments to the FDIC on setting standards for fintech companies.

A pair of hands writing on paper with a pen

Letter to Regulator: FDIC Should Avoid Industry-Led Standard Setting Organization

As the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reassesses third-party partnerships regarding financial technology (fintech), we urge it to refrain from delegating its responsibilities to a public-private standard-setting organization (SSO) and instead to develop its own expertise in the context of a robust, precautionary, approach to oversight. Facilitating compliance with SSO standards is not an acceptable means of regulation, nor an acceptable alternative to regulation.

In The News: How to Save the Pandemic Generation (The New Republic)

There’s a looming student debt cliff awaiting us in 2021. With America in the teeth of the Covid-19–enabled economic downturn, lawmakers suspended federal student loan payments for 80 percent of federal student loan borrowers. This measure, which President Donald Trump extended a few weeks ago, is set to expire on New Year’s Eve, which means borrowers will ring in the new year by restarting their student loan payments in one of the worst job markets in a decade.

photo of a student borrower looking sadly at the sky - Photo by Matese Fields on Unsplash

Statement: AFR Applauds Schumer, Warren Resolution Calling on Trump to Cancel Student Debt

We applaud Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Resolution calling on the Trump Administration to cancel student debt. Cancelling student debt will provide both immediate financial relief to millions of Americans, and crucial economic stimulus for everyone during this protracted crisis — boosting GDP and job creation at a time of intense labor shocks and economic contraction.