If federal regulations and ethical standards for pension fund asset managers are to have “any meaning,” the Department of Labor must not give Credit Suisse a waiver, say AFR and the AFL-CIO in a joint statement.
“Americans for Financial Reform urged members of Congress to allow Operation Choke Point and other oversight of payment fraud to continue. ‘Banks are not always aware that they are being used to facilitate illegal activity,’ their July 15 letter said. ‘But when they choose profits in the face of blatant signs of illegality, they become an appropriate target for enforcement action.’”
Testifying before a House Financial Services subcommittee on July 15, Lauren Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center warned against measures that “would undermine important efforts underway at the Department of Justice and banking regulators designed to ensure that banks do not facilitate illegal activity.”
In CQ, reporter Ben Weyl quotes from a joint AFR/CFA/NCLC letter to Senators: “Fighting payment fraud should not be controversial. Everyone benefits from efforts to stop illegal activity that relies on the payment system.” As Weyl goes on to note, “Conservative activists and GOP lawmakers have accused the Obama administration of pursuing law-abiding businesses that cross the administration’s agenda, including gun sellers.” But the known investigations launched in the name of Operation Choke Point have all been directed at out-and-out-fraud.
“Department enforcement plays a critical role in ensuring banks and payment processors meet [their] legal obligations,” the lawmakers say in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. “Unfortunately, recent cases demonstrate the seriousness of the consequences when those obligations are not met. Accordingly, we urge the Department to enforce vigorously applicable laws pertaining to payment fraud, money-laundering, and other illegal payments…”