Systemic Risk Archives - Page 13 of 27 - Americans for Financial Reform

AFR Statement: Elizabeth Warren Lays Out the “Unfinished Business” of Financial Reform

“Americans for Financial Reform has steadily advocated for many of the policy ideas outlined in her speech, and applauds this heightened push to advance them… Even more important, we support Senator Warren’s call for a renewed effort both to carry out the Dodd-Frank reforms and, based on the lessons of the implementation process up to now, move beyond ‘technocratic’ measures that can be easy for the biggest banks to outmaneuver toward a more ‘structural’ approach and the promise of a fundamentally simpler, safer and fairer financial system.”

AFR in the News: How Warren’s Banking Agenda Could Influence Clinton (American Banker)

“Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform, said Warren’s speech lays ‘down the gauntlet for people in terms of taking specific, strong steps — including steps that go beyond Dodd-Frank — to reform Wall Street. That’s very meaningful in terms of the challenge it puts to people to say whether they’re in favor of that or not,’ he said.”

AFR in the News: General Electric Hands Dodd-Frank Its Biggest Victory Yet (Huffington Post)

“‘I see this as a win not just for too-big-to-fail, but for the extension of the regulatory perimeter in Dodd-Frank,” said Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform. “You basically had one of the largest consumer and investment banks in the country stapled onto a major industrial corporation, and because it was part of this conglomerate, it wasn’t being regulated like a major bank. When the Fed changed that regime, GE decided it wouldn’t be as profitable.'”

AFR Briefing: Presentation to Senate Banking Staff on Regulation of Large Regional Banks

AFR organized a briefing for Senate Banking staff on the regulation of large regional banks and the potential risks to the financial system that could emerge if regulatory authority over these banks is significantly diminished. AFR Policy Director Marcus Stanley and Professor Heidi Schooner of the Catholic University School of Law presented at the briefing.

AFR in the News: Financial Reformers Counter Regional Bank Lobbying (PoliticoPro)

PoliticoPro reports that “financial reform advocates are ramping up lobbying against a push by regional banks to ease rules from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law.” While the banks argue that systemic-risk rules should be limited to a small group of the biggest and most complex banks, “Americans for Financial Reform says the failure of a large regional bank could be a big risk during a crisis,” writes Politico’s Zachary Warmbrodt.

AFR Briefing Paper: Myths and Realities of Large Regional Banks and the Dodd-Frank Act

In recent months there have been calls to roll back regulation of large regional banks – institutions that hold over $50 billion in assets but are not among the eight U.S. mega-banks with a global footprint. In response to unfounded claims about the treatment of large regional banks under the Dodd-Frank Act, AFR has sent a briefing paper to congressional staff as well as the press.

AFR Statement: State of the Union Bank-Tax Proposal Is a Welcome Step

“Americans for Financial Reform welcomes the President’s proposed tax on the liabilities of large banks. Since the tax would fall specifically on debt liabilities, it would create incentives against excessive leverage in the financial sector, while raising revenue as well… We also see the President’s bank tax proposal as contributing to a broad and emerging consensus on the appropriateness of taxing the financial sector commensurately with its profits.”

AFR Letter: Mandatory Margin Requirements Needed for Uncleared Swaps

“Mandatory margin requires participants in the swaps market to take full account of the risks of their derivatives transactions and provide some level of advance provisioning for such risks. The availability of properly segregated margin is clearly of enormous value in case of the default of a swaps counterparty.”

AFR Supports Bipartisan Call for Limits on Federal Reserve Emergency Lending

“A bipartisan group of 15 legislators… has released a letter calling for stronger limitations on the use of Federal Reserve emergency lending powers. The Dodd-Frank Act mandated new limits on such emergency lending. Today’s letter strongly criticizes the Federal Reserve’s proposal to implement these new limits, saying that the proposal places ‘no meaningful restrictions’ on lending powers and leaves the door open to a future ‘backdoor bailout’ of Wall Street. AFR welcomes this letter and applauds the efforts of legislators to address this issue.”

Nearly 600,000 Americans Ask Senators to Support “21st Century Glass-Steagall Act”

“At the Capitol this afternoon [July 9], Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received petitions in which nearly 600,000 Americans call for action on the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act. This bipartisan bill, introduced by Senator Warren along with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Angus King (I-Maine), would address the problem of Wall Street banks that have become too complicated, too conflicted and too powerful, as well as simply too big.”