Federal banking regulators should ensure that banks advance financial inclusion, further racial justice in lending and avoid making loans or investments that harm the environment or cause housing displacement, a group of public interest organizations argued today.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Paycheck Protection Program, a critical pillar of the CARES Act pandemic relief legislation, failed to equitably distribute money despite an avowed goal of focusing on small businesses, according to a new report from seven public interest organizations and labor unions.
In addition to adopting other reforms for future relief programs, the U.S. Small Business Administration should use its statutory power to claw back improperly issued or misused loans. Those cases might include PPP loan recipients who failed to spend at least 60% of their loan proceeds on employee wages, and cases where recipients used the money to issue stockholder dividends, buy back stock, or award executive bonuses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an important and thoughtful proposal to require mandatory climate financial risk disclosure from public companies. We look forward to commenting on ways that the proposal must be strengthened, in particular with respect to greenhouse gas emissions reporting and corporate climate-related impacts on communities.
Americans for Financial Reform joined 38 organizations urging Secretary Yellen to produce a bold Treasury climate finance report. Climate change poses an existential threat to the economic security of households and communities across the nation and to the financial system. As the Chair of the FSOC, it is up to Secretary Yellen to lead the writing of a Treasury report that can serve as a comprehensive roadmap that recognizes the urgency and severity of the climate crisis, includes specific policies beyond assessment and disclosure, and encourages each of the independent agencies to use all available tools to mitigate climate risk and its drivers.