Tag Archives: financial regulation

Letter to Regulators: Letter to the Federal Reserve on the Community Reinvestment Act Proposed Rulemaking

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, along with 25 undersigned organizations, is pleased to submit comments responding to the Joint Notice of Public Rulemaking (NPR) from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively “the agencies”) regarding changes to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA).

Cryptocurrency

Why Crypto is not the Solution to Financial Inclusion

Americans for Financial Reform and the Take on Wall Street campaign gathered several experts on July 1 to lay out the multiple ugly truths about crypto and addressed a few reasons why we should not take the promises made by its most enthusiastic advocates at face value, and why regulators need to use the authority they already have to oversee this market.

News Release: Bank, Credit Union and Consumer Groups Support Committee Vote to Close the Industrial Loan Company Loophole

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services convened today to mark up a series of proposed laws, including a bill to close the industrial loan company (ILC) loophole. The ILC loophole allows Big Tech and other nonbank companies to offer financial products and services without complying with the safeguards and oversights required of bank holding companies.

Letters to Regulators: AFR Education Fund Calls on SEC for Stronger Regulation of Funds in Wake of March 2020 Bailout

The AFR Education Fund sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission responding to a request for comment on regulatory options for money market funds in light of the collapse and bailout of many money market funds during the March 2020 coronavirus financial shock. The letter called for strong new regulatory steps to fix incentives that create financial instability for these products. It also questioned whether additional regulation should be extended to other types of fixed-income investment funds beyond money market funds narrowly defined, as there is evidence that these types of fund arrangements can also contribute to financial instability.

In The News: Wall Street Insider Turned Tough Market Cop: Biden’s Pick To Head SEC (NPR)

If he’s confirmed to run the SEC, there will be a lot that needs fixing, says Marcus Stanley, who worked with Gensler as a Senate staffer after the financial crisis. Stanley is now the policy director of Americans for Financial Reform. “It’s an absolutely critical regulator,” says Stanley, about the SEC. But, he says, “the SEC as an organization needs some change.” He says perhaps more than any other regulator, the SEC “continued with its pre-2008 record of deregulation, even after the financial crisis.”

News Release: AFR Applauds Nomination of Chopra to Lead CFPB

We applaud the nomination of Rohit Chopra to lead the CFPB. His commitment to consumer protection, his effectiveness at using the tools of government to serve the public interest, and his willingness to challenge powerful corporate interests when necessary are exactly what the Bureau needs to fulfill its crucial consumer protection mission.

In The News: Yellen Readies Big Changes for Treasury (The New York Times)

“There’s an emphasis on working people, racial justice and inequality, and that’s a good place to start,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy group that met with Ms. Yellen this month. “But reversing things that the current Treasury Department has done is not enough.”

News Release: Gensler Will Bring Strong Track Record to SEC in Need of Reform

Gary Gensler has a strong track record from his time at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission of being willing to take on powerful industries. Under his leadership, this small and underfunded agency led the way to the first comprehensive regulation of U.S. over-the-counter derivatives markets, despite heavy opposition from industry lobbyists. Gensler will need to bring the same spirit and drive to the even greater task of bringing needed reform to the Securities and Exchange Commission.