Tag Archives: Wall Street

photo of Wall Street sign in NYC | Photo by Chris Li on Unsplash

News Release: House Votes to Remove Guardrails Against Megabank Consolidation

Today, the House voted to rubber stamp bank mergers and accelerate the consolidation of the banking industry, harming depositors, small businesses, and communities. The vote is a giant gift to Wall Street banks and corporate monopolists. The repeal of this rule further threatens the stability of our banking and financial system and leaves families, communities, small businesses, and consumers more vulnerable to increased costs to access banking and financial services.

News Release: Congress Must Reject Big, Brutal Bill Full of Corporate Giveaways

This week brought the big, brutal budget reconciliation bill into sharper focus as the Congressional Majority advanced tax cuts for the super-rich paid for by and severe cuts to healthcare and nutrition assistance through key committees. The combination of tax giveaways to those who need it least and benefit cuts slashing support for basic human needs t are a recipe for catastrophe for most of the country.

In the News: Elon Musk and His DOGE Bro Have Cashed In on Americans’ Retirement Savings

“Public pension funds are one of the biggest sources of capital for private equity firms,” says Oscar Valdés Viera, who analyzes private equity at Americans for Financial Reform. “Workers indirectly fund private equity’s predatory practices through their pension funds. The private equity billionaires benefit from tax loopholes and giveaways that the rest of us do not get,” he says, pointing out the carried interest tax deduction, which allows private equity managers to get much of their income taxed at the lower long-term capital gains tax rate than the ordinary income tax rate.

Blog: Wall Street Payouts Threaten Our Health — Here’s How 

Healthcare has become a nightmare: rising costs, denied care, and mounting patient debt, all while Wall Street rakes in massive profits. On February 24, 2025, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) and the Health and Political Economy Project (HPEP) hosted a webinar featuring physician and researcher Dr. Victor Roy, economist Lenore Palladino, and longtime physician and healthcare policy expert Dr. Donald Berwick.

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News Release: New CFPB Protection Will Curb Big-Bank Overdraft Fees, Save Households Billions Annually

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized new protections against overdraft fee abuses at the largest financial institutions, closing a decades-old loophole that allowed big banks to gouge their customers for an inexpensive service. The CFPB’s overdraft fee rule will reduce most overdraft fees from $35 per transaction down to $5, saving households in the United States $5 billion annually.

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News Release: Senate Hearing Highlights CFPB Work in Protecting Consumers Against Wall Street

Today, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing with Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where lawmakers will hear testimony about the agency’s efforts to enforce and promote fairness, transparency, and competitiveness in the financial services that people rely on every day and hold accountable the Wall Street banks and financial predators that take advantage of vulnerable customers.