Wall Street Archives - Page 10 of 17 - Americans for Financial Reform

Event: Former Fed Governor Tarullo Decries “Low-Intensity Deregulation”

“[A] good bit of that progress … could be endangered by a kind of low-intensity deregulation, consisting of an accumulation of non-headline-grabbing changes and an opaque relaxation of supervisory rigor. There are things to be concerned about in many of the individual proposals on such matters as the leverage ratio, resolution planning, and foreign banking organizations. It’s the cumulative effect, though, that is truly worrisome.”

News Release: Wall Street Money In 2017-18 Highest Ever For Non-Presidential Cycle

Wall Street poured at least $1.9 billion into the political process, the largest-ever amount for a non-presidential year, according to a new report by Americans for Financial Reform. This sum outstrips the total of $1.4 billion, in the 2013-14 election cycle, by 36 percent.

100 dollar bills - Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash

Report: Wall Street Pumps $1.9 Billion into Political Process in 2017-18 Election Cycle

The $1.9 billion Wall Street poured into American politics includes contributions to campaign committees and leadership PACs ($922 million) and lobbying expenditures ($957 million). The money backed a massive rush of pro-industry nominees and legislation over the last two years, at a time when the biggest banks made $100 billion in profits for the first time.

AFR Report: Finance for a Fair Economy – Managing the Financial Cycle

The financial cycle is a concept developed by economists to understand the reasons why finance-driven growth can be self-defeating. Policymakers need to rebalance our response to recessions and financial crises to prevent any repetition of the experience of 2008-2009, in which benefits flowed to Wall Street, not ordinary Americans.

News Release: ‘Aye’ Votes On Kraninger Expose American Families To Greater Wall Street Abuse

The Senate majority has endorsed a CFPB nominee indistinguishable from Mick Mulvaney, who has done his level best to dismantle from within an agency that once won real results for American families hurt by Wall Street and predatory lenders. Kraninger has no track record at all of consumer protection, or of standing up for vulnerable people.

AFR Statement: Full Senate Should Reject Kraninger Nomination to Head CFPB

Kraninger’s job as CFPB director would be to defend consumers against abuse at the hands of Wall Street banks and predatory lenders, but she has shown no sign of being willing to take on this vital role. The full Senate should reject her nomination.

AFR/CFA Memo: SEC Broker Standards Proposal Falls Far Short

Brokers too often steer investors into poorly performing, high-cost investments that are profitable for the broker, but bad for individual investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new regulation that purports to address the problem, but its remedy is too vague and too weak. By creating a veneer of protection, but not the reality, it would deliver a false sense of security that could leave investors worse off than they are now.

Joint Letter: SEC Broker Proposal Fails To Establish Strong Standard or Mitigate Conflicts

The rule’s most significant failing is that it does not establish a clear uniform best interest standard, one that is no less stringent than that found in the Investment Advisers’ Act, for all professionals who provide investment advice to retail clients. Instead, it adopts a weaker standard for broker-dealers that falls short of a true best interest standard and does not adequately address the conflicts of interest that too often are permitted to taint broker-dealers’ recommendations.

AFR/CRL Poll Shows Wide Discontent With Mulvaney Path at CFPB

Voters of all political parties overwhelmingly oppose the actions taken by Mick Mulvaney to undermine the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and feel a strong connection between lax enforcement of the rules on Wall Street and their daily welfare. Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis brought on a searing recession, the survey revealed enduring, strong, and bipartisan support for tougher regulation of Wall Street and predatory lenders.

AFR Conference: Regulating Wall Street Ten years Later

On July 24, Americans for Financial reform hosted a conference looking back at the response to the 2008 crisis, and towards future efforts to ensure that the financial system is more stable, and fair for all. Click here to access the agenda, video, and (soon) the transcript