Bankers, lobbyists, elected officials uttered some choice words on 2018’s bank deregulation legislation and the impact of mid-sized banks on financial stability that belong in any good collection of famous last words.
AFR and Demand Progress led a group of consumer advocates and public interest organizations to send this letter to Congress, asking Members to take a more deliberative and systemic approach to advancing policies to regulate digital assets. The letter urged Congress to resist pursuing legislative proposals compromised by crypto industry influence or that do not adequately address the systemic problems found within the digital asset industry. Instead, the signers called on Congress to empower financial regulators to use their existing authorities and prioritize consumer and investor protection over the digital asset industry’s largely unproven promises.
AFR joined a letter supporting the nomination of Karla Gilbride to serve as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
AFR joined NCLC and SBPC in a letter to Congress in support of the Economic Continuity and Stability Act, which would facilitate the credit industry’s smooth transition from the LIBOR index.
“The administration settled on a smart person with a background in the banking industry and in government as well as path-breaking scholarship on financial regulation,” said Carter Dougherty, a spokesperson for Americans for Financial Reform. “In less polarized times, somebody appointed by a Democratic president who worked for a previous Republican administration and for a Wall Street firm would be the kind of candidate everyone can agree on. But we’re at a moment where a candidate acceptable to Wall Street is a candidate that does the bidding of Wall Street. And that’s not acceptable to the public interest.”
In a 52-47 vote last night, the U.S. Senate voted to overturn a Trump administration regulation that would allow predatory lenders to evade state interest rate laws by putting a bank’s name on the paperwork.
Executive Director Lisa Donner testified at Senate Banking’s hearing “The Dignity of Work.”
Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of the Congress that wrapped up work in 2018 voted again and again for bills pushed by the bank lobby that endanger financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending. The change in control of the House and a heightened awareness of the dangers posed by these actions provide an opportunity to see what changes in the 116th Congress.
Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of Congress have voted again and again for bills pushed by the bank lobby that are dangerous for our financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending. The report, entitled “Where They Stand on Financial Reform,” lays out how each lawmaker voted.
This comprehensive guide details how members of the 115th Congress voted on bills and nominations related to financial reform.