Letter to Congress: AFR Urges House Financial Services Committee To Reject 19 Deregulatory Bills
AFR sent the letter below to the House Financial Services Committee urging them to reject nineteen deregulatory bills. AFR Letter Re HFSC 10-11 Markup
Tag Archives: CFPB
Open Letter to Banks (and OCC): Don’t Make Debt Trap Payday Loans
“In 2013, the FDIC and OCC issued guidance aimed at curbing the harms of these debt trap loans. At the same time, the Federal Reserve issued a supervisory statement to the same end… But today, banks are attacking the FDIC and OCC protections that have prevented banks from trapping people in unaffordable payday loans.”
We write to ask for the bank’s pledge that it will not begin making payday loans, and that it will oppose the
rollback of the regulatory guidance, which would make it easier for other banks to do so.
AFR in the News: Consumer Watchdog Cracks Down on Payday Lenders, Bucking Trump (Bloomberg)
“Consumer advocates say tougher rules are needed because lenders often prey on desperate borrowers who are living paycheck to paycheck by trapping them in debt. ‘Payday and car title lenders profit from repeatedly dragging hard-pressed people deeper and deeper into debt, and taking advantage of families when they are financially vulnerable,’ Lisa Donner, the Americans for Financial Reform’s executive director, said in a statement. ‘Curbing the ability to push loans that borrowers clearly cannot repay is a key protection.’”
AFR in the News: ‘Monopoly man’ sits behind Equifax CEO at Senate hearing (Fox News)
“A person dressed as the Monopoly Man (aka ‘Uncle Pennybags’) landed some prime real estate at a Senate banking committee hearing, seated behind Equifax CEO Richard Smith in a live-action photobombing… Amanda Werner [of Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen] walked into the committee hearing with a giant ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card for Equifax and Wells Fargo, with the statement ‘forced arbitration lets financial institutions escape accountability for wrongdoing.’”
AFR in the News: How Monopoly Man Won the Internet (NPR)
“Monopoly Man became the Internet crush of the day on Wednesday, after upstaging former Equifax CEO Richard Smith at a Senate hearing on the company’s massive data breach. The board game character, whose name is Rich Uncle Pennybags, was brought to life by Amanda Werner, an arbitration campaign manager for Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform, groups that advocate for consumer rights and protections.”
Joint Statement: CFPB Payday Lending Rule Will Disrupt Abusive Lending, Protect Families
“At the heart of the rule is the common sense principle that lenders check a borrower’s ability to repay before lending money. While praising the CFPB for pushing to stop the debt trap, the coalition calls on the Bureau to build on this progress by quickly working to develop regulations to protect consumers from abusive long-term, high-cost loans. Also, strong state laws, such as rate caps, must continue to be defended and enacted.”
Public Testimony: Alexis Goldstein calls on ED Department to Reinstate MOUs with the CFPB
Today at a public hearing at the Department of Education, AFR’s senior policy analyst gave testimony about the need to reinstate the Memorandum of Understanding with the CFPB, ended by Secretary DeVos to widespread criticism.
Joint Letter: AFR and 16 groups urge “firm and assertive” action to guard consumers against credit-bureau abuses
“We write to express our grave concerns over [Equifax’s] slow response to the
breach and then its shifting, maddening, and ultimately inadequate response to consumers including
our members, clients and other constituencies. We write with several recommendations for what
Congress should and should not do in response.”
Joint Letter: Consumer Groups Applaud CFPB Review of Overdraft Fees, Oppose Senate Move Against Forced Arbitration Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s review of unfair and abusive overdraft practices is complemented by its recent efforts to limit the use of forced arbitration, said five consumer groups in a joint letter sent today to Director Richard Cordray. U.S. Senate leadership is pushing for a vote this week on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal a CFPB rule that restores consumers’ right to join together in court against banks and lenders.
AFR in the News: Under cover of Graham-Cassidy, Senate GOP moving to gut major CFPB rule (Intercept)
“[E]xecutives for both Wells Fargo and Equifax… will testify in Senate committees next week. Both companies have used arbitration clauses in an attempt to deny consumers access to the courts… ‘This rush toward a vote in the Senate is a cynical attempt to roll back an important consumer protection before anyone gets straight answers from Equifax and Wells Fargo about the damage they’ve done to the financial lives of millions of Americans,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform.”