AFR Statement: Oppose OCC Bid to Control Consumer Protection
The OCC’s proposals would directly weaken financial regulatory protections and push aside other agencies so the OCC could take critical guardrails off of Wall Street on its own
The OCC’s proposals would directly weaken financial regulatory protections and push aside other agencies so the OCC could take critical guardrails off of Wall Street on its own
In its rush to eviscerate the Dodd-Frank reforms, Treasury Department adopted over three-quarters of the ideas put forth by The Clearing House, an association of the biggest U.S. and international banks
“Americans for Financial Reform opposes the confirmation of Neomi Rao as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Professor Rao’s announced views demonstrate an extreme disregard for the independence of financial regulatory agencies and an unwarranted hostility to critical financial protections.”
Treasury proposal advances ideas that have been pushed by industry lobbyists since Dodd-Frank was passed. We need more effective regulation and enforcement, not rollbacks driven by Wall Street and predatory lenders.
Financial advisers now owe their clients a duty to put their interests first when giving retirement advice. This change is a huge victory for ordinary Americans investing for a secure retirement, one that will put billions of dollars back in their pockets.
“Putting the greed of campaign contributors ahead of the public interest, lawmakers are preparing to take a wrecking ball to reforms that addressed a devastating financial crisis and recession.”
In the face of supporting evidence described above, in addition to harming retirement savers, the Department would be exposing itself to significant legal risk to change course and further delay the Rule now.
Throwing up elaborate procedural hurdles isn’t a recipe for to good government. It’s a deliberate plan for increasing the control that Wall Street’s lobbyists have over government decision-making at the expense of the public interest.
The committee has passed a bill that would give Wall Street and assorted predatory lenders a free hand to abuse consumers and investors, and would increase the likelihood of another financial crisis. If it became law it would make life harder for American families and for small businesses of all types.
“We are seriously concerned about what Jay Clayton’s leadership will mean for investors and the economy. His longtime client, Goldman Sachs, played a central role in the devastating financial crisis of 2008 and has a long record of questionable market behavior. Clayton himself has numerous direct personal conflicts of interest.”