AFREF and allies sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calling on her to rescind the 2019 guidance under the Trump Administration that made it unduly difficult to designate non-banks as Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs).
Americans for Financial Reform joined 38 organizations urging Secretary Yellen to produce a bold Treasury climate finance report. Climate change poses an existential threat to the economic security of households and communities across the nation and to the financial system. As the Chair of the FSOC, it is up to Secretary Yellen to lead the writing of a Treasury report that can serve as a comprehensive roadmap that recognizes the urgency and severity of the climate crisis, includes specific policies beyond assessment and disclosure, and encourages each of the independent agencies to use all available tools to mitigate climate risk and its drivers.
AFREF joined a letter to Treasury urging them to ensure accessibility, transparency, and accountability in the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) program.
AFR sent a letter urging the Biden Administration to take a faster pace in filling key regulatory and financial policy positions. The letter calls out how the Administration’s slow pace in these appointments has undermined its racial justice and climate change agendas.
President Biden today issued an executive order that outlines the administration’s plan to manage the financial risks associated with the climate crisis. The order highlights the administration’s determination to use all the resources of the federal government to combat the threat that climate change poses to financial stability.
“The FSOC and Treasury must pivot from this meeting and push lagging regulators to turn today’s words on climate into bold and timely action. At its next meeting, the FSOC should take the concrete steps we recommend in the Climate Roadmap. There’s still time to act, but no more time to delay.”
— Alex Martin, Senior Policy Analyst, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund
The “Climate Roadmap for U.S. Financial Regulation,” from Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund and Public Citizen, outlines how Biden appointees can protect investors, workers, and the economy from the escalating risks caused by the climate crisis, while also shifting the regulatory framework towards one that promotes the transition to a low-carbon future.
AFR released a recommended set of systemic reforms outlining steps to create a safe and just financial system. These include both reversing the deregulation of the Trump years and taking positive steps to create a far more secure and inclusive financial system. The full document
The Opportunity Zone tax break is likely to exacerbate the affordable housing crisis and displace residents of color and lower-income residents while rewarding rich real estate investors with a lucrative tax break, according to a new report by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Institute, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Kansas City Tenants, and New York Communities for Change.
The Opportunity Zone (O-Zone) tax break was created by the 2017 Republican tax cut legislation. It was promoted as a way to incentivize investment in economically disadvantaged areas but it is marred by poor design and flawed implementation so that it will most likely provide tax breaks for investments in already booming cities and gentrifying neighborhoods. The program incentivizes investments that aim to maximize returns in lower-income areas where residents are vulnerable to economic displacement pressures.