AFR, Author at Americans for Financial Reform

Statement: Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress statement on House passage of legislative giveaways to the crypto industry that enrich Trump and his cronies

Today’s House crypto votes are an ill omen for small investors and the financial system. The die is now cast: the crypto industry’s profligate political spending is very close to securing a light-touch regulatory framework for these volatile assets and predatory platforms that will mainstream crypto’s endemic scandals, instability, exploitation, and illicit financial dealings right into the fabric of the financial system.

Blog: Delay to Dismantle: How the SEC is Gutting Its Own Systemic Risk Early Warning System

On June 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly postponed a long-delayed and critical deadline to monitor shadow banking. The agency delayed—for the second time—the compliance date for its updated Form PF rule, giving large private fund advisers a few more months to begin reporting the kind of basic data regulators need to monitor systemic risk.

Blog: Wall Street Wants Your Retirement Savings

People rely on their retirement savings to provide economic security later in life, but Wall Street private equity firms have launched a dangerous scheme to fleece savers who have amassed a $12.4 trillion pot of money via their 401(k) retirement accounts.

News Release: Private Equity Taking Over Key Parts of Home Care System

The private equity industry has tapped into the multibillion dollar home and community based services (HCBS) sector, and has already made millions by implementing its routine playbook of extracting valuable company resources from providers of these crucial services while making life harder for care workers, clients, and communities most in need, according to a new report released by Americans For Financial Reform Education Fund.

News Release: Over 80 Groups Oppose Passage of Dangerous Crypto Deregulation Bill

Today, a group of over 80 national and state civil rights, community, consumer, faith-based, environmental and other organizations urged Members of Congress to oppose passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633), known as the CLARITY Act.

Statement for the Record: Cheering the 15-Year Track Record of Dodd-Frank Act

AFR submitted a statement for the record for the House hearing on the 15-year record of the Dodd-Frank Act, which Congress passed to reduce the likelihood and severity of future financial crises and to protect people from financial predation and it has made a difference. Congress and financial regulators should be building on the pieces it put in place, not rolling them back.

Letter to Congress: AFR and 72 Organizations Oppose Slew of Bills Attacking CFPB

AFR and 67 community, civil rights, consumer, civic, and other organizations urged members of the House Financial Services Committee to oppose a slew of bills that would undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) structure, funding, independence, and undermine the Bureau’s ability to protect people from financial harm, fraud, and scams.

Fact Sheet: CLARITY Act Worse than Last Year’s FIT 21 Crypto Deregulation

The CLARITY Act outpaces many of FIT 21’s substantial deregulatory flaws. It has more exemptions and even less oversight, allowing crypto scams and illicit finance to proliferate and pose greater risks to consumers and the financial system than FIT 21.

In the News: Hardly Workin’ (The American Prospect)

“Every legal loophole that the previous administration tried to close is now open again,” [Christine Chen Zinner, senior policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform] told the Prospect. “With no meaningful oversight and accountability, there is no safety in the financial marketplace. People are on their own now.”

News Release: Big, Brutal Bill Slashes Critical Programs, Rolls Back Safeguards, Rewards Ultra-Rich and Wall Street

The giveaways to private equity firms subsidize predatory and extractive practices that harm workers, families, and communities. At the same time, the big, brutal bill dismantles critical agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, making people more vulnerable to scams, rip-offs, and junk fees.