Letter to Congress: AFR Urges House Financial Services Committee To Reject 19 Deregulatory Bills
AFR sent the letter below to the House Financial Services Committee urging them to reject nineteen deregulatory bills. AFR Letter Re HFSC 10-11 Markup
Tag Archives: SEC
AFR Statement: On Confirmation of Jay Clayton to Run SEC
“We are seriously concerned about what Jay Clayton’s leadership will mean for investors and the economy. His longtime client, Goldman Sachs, played a central role in the devastating financial crisis of 2008 and has a long record of questionable market behavior. Clayton himself has numerous direct personal conflicts of interest.”
Letter to Congress: AFR and 22 Organizations Oppose Jay Clayton for SEC Chair
AFR joins 22 organizations in letter urging members of the Senate Banking Committee to oppose the nomination of Walter Joseph ‘Jay’ Clayton to serve as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Take on Wall Street” Statement: Wall Street Watchdogs Blast Banking Committee majority for approving Clayton to Head SEC
“Jay Clayton’s entire career of representing major Wall Street banks, advancing their interests at the expense of the public, helping them avoid accountability, stands in contradiction to the very mission of the agency he has been nominated to lead… Those who voted in favor of his appointment — both Democrats and Republicans –will have some explaining to do to constituents who are sick and tired of letting Wall Street continue rig the economy so all of the gains go to those at the very top.”
Take on Wall Street Statement: Jay Clayton hearing further demonstrates he is the wrong man to lead the SEC
Jay Clayton’s performance in the SEC confirmation hearing makes it abundantly clear that after a career of helping Wall Street banks avoid accountability, he is uniquely ill-suited to the job of protecting investors and working people from Wall Street misconduct.
Joint Letter: Public Interest Groups Urge Financial Industry Leaders to Call a Halt to Anti-Investor Tactics of Trade Associations Seeking to Overturn DOL Protections for Retirement Savers
“Financial services companies that support giving retirement investors investment advice that is in their best interests should stand up against the aggressive anti-investor lobbying tactics of their trade associations seeking to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL) conflict of interest rule, according to three national organizations that have supported DOL efforts to strengthen protections for retirement savers.”
Letter to Congress: Oppose HR 78 The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act
“This legislation is transparently an effort to paralyze the SEC and to empower Wall Street lawyers to overturn its decisions, not to improve its analysis or decision making. …The most prominent new requirement would mandate that the SEC identify every “available alternative” to a proposed regulation or agency action and quantitatively measure the costs and benefits of each such alternative prior to taking action. …In addition to the enormous task of identifying and analyzing every available alternative to a course of action, the agency would be required to perform half a dozen new analyses in addition to its current requirements concerning market efficiency, competition, and capital formation. These new requirements include analyses of effects on small business, market liquidity, state and local government, investor choice, and “market participants”. Notably, no new requirements concerning the protection of investors or preventing another financial crash are included. …We urge you to reject it.”
AFR Testimony: Testimony to SEC Investor Advisory Committee Hearing
In the new political environment, it is likely that there will be a heavy emphasis on the capital formation mission of the SEC. The IAC should play a critical role in reminding the Commission that investor protection is crucial to stable and effective capital formation. …Improving financial entity disclosures is crucial if we are to improve market discipline for large financial entities and investor discipline for funds.
Joint Letter: AFR and AFL-CIO Oppose Weakening of Corporate Disclosures
AFR joined with the AFL-CIO in calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise its proposed rule so that “any changes to the Commission’s disclosure rules do not narrow the scope of information that is provided to investors.”
AFR in the News: SEC Rule to Limit Derivatives Alarms Industry With Liquidity Concerns (Morning Consult)
“A Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to place caps on registered investment firms’ exposures to derivatives is showing the hallmarks of a classic Washington battle — the industry is trying to tamp down advocacy groups’ requests for broad regulations. Although the SEC hasn’t announced its plans, lobbyists who have been watching the derivatives rule expect the agency to move forward in the coming months. Watchdog groups like Better Markets and Americans for Financial Reform have championed the proposal…”