AFR sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives urging them to vote in opposition to H.R. 4545, the so-called “Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act.”
AFR supports Sen. Brown’s amendment that would guarantee that enhanced prudential safeguards remain in place at the U.S. operations of foreign mega-banks.
“[The consumer provisions in the bill] are ‘tokens,’ said Americans for Financial Reform, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group pushing for greater financial reform, tacked on to provide cover to a bill that is mainly about financial sector ‘giveaways.'”
“The financial services industry pumped a record $2bn of campaign contributions into the political system in the two years leading up to the 2016 elections. And the flood of cash has continued, with a particular focus on senators whose votes will be decisive. The influence that money buys is creating a massive shift away from the moderate reforms made in and around Dodd-Frank, which were making the system safer and helping consumers and investors keep billions of dollars each year that an already profitable industry would otherwise siphon off.”
AFR sent a letter urging House members to vote “No” on H.R. 4296—a bill that would tie regulators hands in setting operational risk capital.
“Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, said he was glad to see the authority embraced in the report, but alarmed by specifics of the bankruptcy recommendations that he said ‘would create special privileges for big banks, rely on unrealistic assumptions, and in their current form would likely increase risks to the financial system.'”
“Under current law, banks with more than $50 billion in assets are considered ‘systemically important financial institutions’ and therefore are subject to extra scrutiny. The Senate bill would lift that threshold to $250 billion, relaxing oversight of 25 of the 38 largest banks in the country. According to Americans for Financial Reform, those banks are collectively responsible for $3.5 trillion in assets and received nearly $50 billion in bailout money during the financial crisis.”
“H.R. 3312 dramatically restricts oversight of some of the largest banks in the country, increasing risks to regional economies and to financial stability, and therefore to the prosperity of families and communities.”
AFR sent a letter opposing a bill that would eliminate the independent voice of proxy advisory firms and unfairly disadvantage shareholders as compared to firm management.
AFR Policy Director Marcus Stanley testified to the Financial Institutions subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee on five pieces of proposed legislation. Written Testimony: Marcus Stanley Testimony To House Financial Services FI Subcommittee December 7 2017 FINAL The full hearing is available here: https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=402730