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Hi friend,

Happy New Year!

As we look to the possibilities of a new year, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the impact the Better Markets team has had in 2023 thanks to your support.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and the resulting banking crisis in early 2023 was a galvanizing moment for Better Markets and a stark illustration of why our work is so important. We had been sounding the alarm about the threat to our banking system throughout the deregulation of the Trump administration, as the Biden administration took office, and in the months before the crash. We take no pleasure in being right, but the crash, contagion, and bailouts were predictable, and predicted. As the crisis unfolded and in its aftermath, we provided real-time analysis of the causes and pushed policymakers and regulators to enact real change to protect Main Street families from needless bank failures, deposit flight, and increases in the cost of credit.

There are simply too few with the expertise and willing to speak the truth about the flaws in our financial system and the threat they pose to Main Street. Your support allows us to have the firepower to be a truly independent and fearless counterweight to Wall Street’s megabanks and the larger financial industry.

In 2023 you also helped us stand up to a plot to allow gambling on U.S. elections, shed light on a lawless crypto industry, advocate for rules that protect Main Street families, consumers, and investors, and highlight growing concerns about climate change and the looming threat to our financial system.

2024 will likely be even more consequential. Wall Street’s megabanks are poised to continue their propaganda campaign against modest capital requirements necessary to protect our financial system. The crypto industry is pushing regulators and your elected officials to enact their special interests in an attempt to profit from a dangerous, speculative product that has no legitimate use. And numerous federal agencies face relentless obstruction as financial industry lobbyists and their allies try to delay as many needed reforms as possible, hoping that they will be able to buy more industry-friendly officials in the 2024 election.

I want you to know that in 2024 Better Markets will continue to fight against these special interests and continue to fight for sensible rules to protect your savings, investments, jobs, homes, retirements and, yes, dreams from an industry more interested in wealth extraction than wealth creation. Together we can speak the truth about the policies that make a difference in the lives of Americans, get them enacted, and put them into action, creating better markets, banks, businesses, and communities.

Thank you again for your support and partnership in this important work! Looking forward to another year of progress and shared achievements.

Kindly,
Maryan

Maryan Abdelmesih
Director of Strategic Partnerships and Development, Better Markets

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