Forced Arbitration Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Americans for Financial Reform

AFR in the News: Wells Fargo Scandal Helps Consumer Advocates in CFPB Rule Fight (Bloomberg BNA)

“Consumer groups are invoking Wells Fargo as they seek to persuade a handful of Republican senators to help defeat a potential September vote on a resolution blocking the arbitration rule. ‘We’ve definitely pointed to Wells Fargo as pretty much the poster child for why we need this rule,’ Amanda Werner, campaign manager at consumer groups Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen, told Bloomberg BNA.”

AFR In the News: Regulator Moves Against Mandatory Arbitration Agreements (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

“Since most consumers cannot afford to take on a big corporation on their own, banks like Wells Fargo get away with ripping off large numbers of customers,” Amanda Werner, arbitration campaign manager with Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen, said in a statement. “This new rule will help prevent this kind of widespread fraud and ensure consumers can fight back.”

AFR In the NEws: Divide Between Financial Regulators Appointed by Trump, Obama Widens (Reuters)

The political fissure between an Obama-appointed financial overseer and regulators hired by U.S. President Donald Trump is widening, with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray threatening to challenge in court any attempt to kill his agency’s new arbitration rule. To overturn a CFPB rule, two-thirds of the FSOC must agree that it puts the whole banking system at risk. “It’s an extraordinarily high standard,” said Brian Marshall, policy counsel for Americans for Financial Reform, a Washington-based advocacy group. “It’s ludicrous that the arbitration rule would meet that standard.”

AFR In the News: Banks’ Imperfect Options for Killing CFPB Arbitration Rule (American Banker)

Opponents of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s arbitration rule are eyeing a trio of options for blocking the regulation before it takes effect, but all three are beset with their own challenges. The strategy with the most attention is for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to repeal the rule through the Congressional Review Act. But industry representatives are also considering the prospect of the Financial Stability Oversight Council overruling the regulation, or a group such as the Chamber of Commerce suing to throw the rule out. Yet all three appear to face an uphill climb. “Suggesting now that the rule would put the safety and soundness of the American banking system at risk is preposterous,” said Brian Marshall, policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform. “Many banks do not use forced arbitration clauses at all, and the OCC has never suggested those institutions are not safe and sound as a result.”

AFR in the News: Banks and credit card companies really hate class actions – will Trump help outlaw them? (LA Times)

“Sometime in the next few weeks, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to impose stringent limits on the ability of banks and credit card companies to avoid consumer lawsuits. The financial services industry has been screaming bloody murder
‘We’re all preparing for a big fight,’ says Amanda Werner, who has been keeping an eye on the CFPB rule making for the consumer groups Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform.”

AFR Statement: House Bill Would Let Banks and Lenders Keep Ill-Gotten Gains

“The House passed legislation to effectively kill class action lawsuits, which are often consumers’ only chance to fight back against repeated corporate fraud and scams… ‘If this bill becomes law, those ill-gotten gains will instead be used to pad Wall Street’s bottom line,’ said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform… ‘H.R. 985 gives banks and lenders a license to steal and encourages more scandals like Wells Fargo’s fake account opening.'”

Letter to Regulators: Over 18,000 AFR Members call on the CFPB to Rein in Forced Arbitration Ripoff Clauses

Over 18,000 members of Americans for Financial Reform signed a petition calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure that consumers aren’t deprived of their day in court.

AFR Press Release: More than 100 Lawmakers Call for Swift CFPB Action on Forced Arbitration

“More than 100 U.S. Senators and Representatives are asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to move ahead with its efforts to restore the right of consumers to join together to hold corporations accountable when they break the law. In separate House and Senate letters, the lawmakers voice their support for a CFPB proposal that would limit the financial industry’s use of forced arbitration “ripoff clauses,” typically buried in the fine print of take-it-or-leave-it contracts, to block consumers from challenging hidden fees, fraud, and other illegal behavior.”

Letter to Congress: Don’t interfere with proposal to restore consumers’ class-action rights

“This rule is a crucial step to limit big banks’ and other financial companies’ efforts to escape liability if they break the law. Congressional or industry interference with the CFPB’s rulemaking process on forced arbitration would undermine consumer protection for critical financial products and services.”

AFR Statement: Skewed House hearing on arbitration

“Under the terms of the CFPB’s proposal, consumers and companies would remain perfectly free to resolve disputes through arbitration, but it would be a voluntary act on both sides. What the CFPB is seeking to regulate is involuntary arbitration, dictated and controlled by banks and financial companies through take it-or-leave-it contracts with consumers. More specifically, its proposal would bar companies from compelling consumers to sign away the right to join forces to challenge a practice that injures many people at once.”