TOWS Brief: Wall Street Makes Bank on Trump
On the first anniversary of the Trump administration, the Take on Wall Street coalition catalogs the ways that Wall Street made bank on Trump in 2017.
Tag Archives: Hedge Funds and Private Equity
AFR in the News: Private Equity Cashes In On Payday Lending
“[I]t is a telling sign of just how dysfunctional the American economy has become that some of the nation’s biggest private equity firms are now heavily invested in the payday loan business and its slightly more respectable cousin, subprime installment lending. A new report from Americans for Financial Reform and the Private Equity Stakeholder Project details dozens of such arrangements involving some of the biggest names on Wall Street and the scuzziest operations on Main Street.”
AFR Release: New Report Documents Deepening Links Between Payday Lending and Private Equity
Private equity moguls have invested heavily in the payday and installment lending. The development puts private equity firms in the position to profit from efforts by payday lenders to roll back an important new rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
AFR Report: Payday Lending and the Private Equity Business
New report offers details on over 20 cases of private equity investment in payday lending, and how the new owners or investors seek greater rewards from this predatory business.
Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes HR 477 — the misleadingly labeled “Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2017″
Disguised as a regulatory relief for small businesses, this legislation would exempt from registration requirements merger and acquisition brokers of transactions involving quite large privately held companies, while opening a deregulatory window of opportunity for private equity firms to exploit.
AFR/TOWS Statement: Senate Republican Tax Bill a Gift to Wall Street
On Friday, Senate Republicans passed a bill with some $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, overwhelmingly weighted to the wealthiest Americans. The bill lavishes tax cuts on Wall Street banks, on executives who can manipulate their legal status to obtain a lower tax rate, and on operations in foreign tax havens. In contrast, ordinary Americans earning wages and salaries receive very limited benefits, and in many cases will see their taxes increased.
TOWS Statement: Groups Slam Tax Bills For Failure to Close Carried Interest Loophole
The Take on Wall Street campaign denounced the proposed tax bills for effectively preserving the carried interest loophole for Wall Street money managers, a loophole Trump promised to close during the campaign trail.
AFR in the News: Report Finds More than $5 Million Spent in NY’s 19th CD by Hedge Fund Managers (Time-Warner Cable News)
“A new report released this week by the HedgeClippers campaign shows just how much money is being spent in [the 19th] district by hedge fund managers… $5.5 million [to protect] the carried-interest loophole. ‘[Q]uite often when you have a lot of money coming in from Wall Street… people vote in lockstep with what Wall Street wants,’” says Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst at Americans for Financial Reform.
AFR in the News: Private Equity Tries to Chip Away at Dodd-Frank With House Bill (NY Times)
“The bill’s opponents — including [Rep. Maxine] Waters and the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform — question why Congress would undo some restrictions on private equity just as the S.E.C. was identifying problems in the industry. In particular, the opponents have raised concerns about a provision that would reduce the amount of information that large private equity fund managers report to regulators…”
Letter to Congress: AFR, 5 Orgs Urge Congress to Reject The Investment Advisers Modernization Act
AFR and 5 other organizations urge Congress to reject HR 5424, a dangerous bill that would allow private funds to evade SEC examinations, and to distribute misleading and even fraudulent advertising materials.