View the newsletter online here. Hi friend, First, let me start by saying how great it was to join our friends, partners and supporters from the Omidyar Network at a recent live in person (!) event to celebrate Elena Botella’s insightful and thought-provoking new book “Delinquent: Inside America’s Debt Machine.” You really should read it! Chris […]
The Supreme Court The Supreme Court began its new term on Monday, October 3, 2022. Along with cases involving high-profile social policy questions, the Court will be addressing important issues in the realm of financial regulation and economics, which have a profound impact on the financial well-being of virtually all Americans. In late September, we […]
View the newsletter online here. We don’t always get to lead our Newsletter with good news, but this time we do! For the first time since 2013, the Federal Reserve Board has all seven members confirmed and in place. And, Governor Lisa D. Cook is the first African American woman and first woman of color […]
The Supreme Court The Supreme Court is about to begin a new term on Monday, October 3rd, so now is a good time to look back on the Court’s decisions from the last term and look ahead to some important cases the Court will be deciding in the coming months. That’s exactly what we have […]
View the newsletter online here. August is typically a sleepy time in Washington, but the past month has been incredibly busy for our team at Better Markets. In just the past few weeks, we have fought for low and moderate income communities in reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, urged the federal banking agencies to stop […]
The Supreme Court The Supreme Court is only a month away from the start of its new term, with an initial conference scheduled for September 28 and oral arguments set for October 3. This is a good time to look back on the Court’s decisions from the last term and look ahead to some important […]
An important part of our work at Better Markets is trying to inform and shape the conversation around the core issues of economic growth, jobs, credit availability, wealth creation, small business formation, community banks, and the basic finances essential to the livelihoods of all Americans. The financial industry spends an enormous amount of time and […]
The Supreme Court The Supreme Court’s decisions have been dominating the legal headlines for some time and it’s no surprise given the impact the Court has on controversial social policy issues, including abortion rights and gun control. But every term, the U.S. Supreme Court also decides cases addressing important financial and economic issues that profoundly […]
To view the emailed version, click here. Wall Street’s biggest banks and their Washington allies spend an enormous amount of money every year to influence policy and the rulemaking process to boost their profits and bonuses while protecting their businesses from sensible regulation and competition. Despite that army of lobbyists and lawyers, there are opportunities […]
The Supreme Court Recently, the Supreme Court has issued a number of high-profile and extraordinarily controversial decisions concerning major social policy issues, including abortion rights and gun control. But the fact remains that every term, the U.S. Supreme Court also decides cases addressing important financial and economic issues that profoundly affect Americans’ lives. We regularly […]
This has been a busy month for our team as we applauded the confirmation of key Federal Reserve nominees, put a spotlight on the egregious actions of Wall Street’s biggest banks, and weighed in on cryptocurrency and its potential impact on investors and ordinary Americans. To view the emailed version, go here. We celebrated the Senate’s confirmation […]
The Supreme Court Every term, the U.S. Supreme Court decides cases addressing not just major social policies such as abortion and gun control but also financial and economic issues that profoundly affect Americans’ lives. We regularly issue reports highlighting these critically important economic and financial cases. Read our preview of the current term here, and our […]
Lots happened in the last month from the Senate confirmation of nominees to the Federal Reserve Board (including the historic confirmation of the first Black female to serve on the Board) and a lively video AMA (ask me anything) on r/superstonk to yet more Wall Street crime and protecting consumers while insisting on accountability. First, […]
This month we celebrate Black History month with several diverse and historic nominees to the Federal Reserve Board, including economists Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson. While rarely discussed or acknowledged, discrimination and racism have contributed to deeply entrenched racial inequality in our economic and financial systems. Because financial regulators have a critical role to play in addressing […]
The new year is off to a rocking start, with lots of activity focused particularly on the Federal Reserve, which impacts the wallets and pocketbooks, lives and livelihoods of every American family. Anyone with a job, home, savings or checking bank account, credit or debit card, or loan of any type (student, mortgage, auto, personal, small […]
Hard to believe, but 2022 is here! We ended 2021 with a bang and are looking forward to the challenges of 2022 and we hope you are too. First, thank you to everyone who financially supported Better Markets in 2021. As a 501c3 nonprofit, we only exist and can only fight for Main Street families, […]
Dear Friends, Longstanding discrimination, mistreatment, and predatory practices by the financial services sector—propagated and perpetuated by racist beliefs, narratives, laws, regulations, policies, and practices—have contributed—and continue to contribute—to deeply entrenched structural inequities that profoundly undermine the economic status of people of color. This will not be easily undone, even if the federal financial regulatory agencies […]
Dear Friends, As we hit send on this Newsletter, the scandal engulfing the Federal Reserve is only getting worse. That’s because, for 51 days now (see our “Fed Cover Up Clock” here), the Fed has been engaged in a cover up and has refused to come clean with the American people about the senior Fed officials […]
Dear Friends, As we discussed last month, the Federal Reserve is the Supreme Court of economic and financial policymaking. Its actions impact the standard of living and the quality of life of every American, from the price of cereal, bread, and gas for the car to the affordability of housing (whether you own or rent), not […]
Dear Friends, Thank you for checking in with us this month to see what we have been up to. One often hears talk about the summer doldrums during August in Washington. Not so much this summer! The Senate and the House are working through about half of their traditional recess. And we at Better Markets […]
Dear Friends, Thank you for checking-in this month to read about what we have been up to. Since you last heard from us, I had the privilege of appearing on CNBC’s Fast Money show to talk about how our current equity markets rip off retail investors and the buy side generally. Sadly, the markets are too often […]
Dear Friends, Thanks for joining us again this month to read about what we’ve been working on in June. First, I am pleased to announce that Doug Walker has joined us as Director of Communications. Doug brings over 20 years of experience managing advocacy communications and serving as a communications executive in the public sector. He has led […]
In this issue, Better Markets reported on its numerous activities throughout the month to hold regulators accountable for actions that impact Main Street families. This included monitoring several important Congressional hearings this month, including Chairwoman Maxine Waters’ third House Financial Services Committee hearing on the many issues raised by the GameStop trading frenzy. We also […]
Better Markets continues to watch for decisions in several important pending cases as well as track key issues in the courts. These include: A case before the Supreme Court (Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System) in which shareholders are seeking compensation for Goldman Sachs’ role in the 2008 financial crisis. The Supreme Court heard oral […]
May was a busy month for congressional hearings on various financial issues of impact to Main Street Americans. Better Markets monitored many of the hearings, sent in suggested questions for consideration, and shared expertise and resources as appropriate. We also provided insight and analysis via social media, letters to appropriate congressional representatives, and fact sheets. […]
Earlier this month, Better Markets joined more than 30 other prominent public interest groups in crafting and submitting a comment letter to the Department of Labor that called for further guidance and rulemaking to rein in adviser conflicts of interest that cost tens of millions of retirees tens of billions of dollars every year. Although […]
Better Markets filed a comment letter urging the CFPB to revisit two “heartless” and, frankly, despicable debt collection rules before they go into effect later this year. Earlier this month, Better Markets responded to a request for comment on a proposal to delay the effective date of two debt collection rules for 60 days. We […]
Eminent professor. Legendary banking law scholar. Effective advocate. Encouraging mentor. Courageous speaker of truth to power. These are just a few terms phrases people use when describing Professor Art Wilmarth, who has spent his career calling out the many dangers of megabanks in the U.S and across the globe. After former Chairman and CEO of Citigroup […]
Megabanks and their predatory behavior were in the spotlight in May with hearings by the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. As usual, Better Markets provided commentary and analysis of the hearings with links to our resources via Twitter @BetterMarkets. Check out the links below to watch the recorded hearings and read more about these events in […]
House Financial Service Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters held a third hearing on Thursday, May 6, to examine the recent market volatility involving GameStop and other stocks. The virtual hearing, “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide, Part III” can be viewed here. Also, Better Markets’ Dennis Kelleher recently discussed […]
Better Markets championed retail investors in an amicus brief that defended a new order type developed by IEX that helps everyday investors fight back against high-frequency trading (HFT) abuses. In our brief, we explain the huge advantages that HFT firms like Citadel Securities enjoy and the harm they inflict on investors. We also show how the D-Limit […]
Better Markets continues to watch for decisions in several important pending cases as well as track key issues in the courts: A case before the Supreme Court (Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System) in which shareholders are seeking compensation for Goldman Sachs role in the 2008 financial crisis. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in […]
If you think that the Supreme Court is not important to your financial and economic security, here’s $1.2+ billion reasons why you are wrong. On April 22, the Supreme Court handed the FTC a major defeat in its fight to deprive con artists of their ill-gotten gains and to return funds to injured investors. It […]
The Eighth Circuit Court’s rejection of a proposed class-action lawsuit from investors who accused TD Ameritrade of securities fraud is disappointing, denies investors their day in court, and inappropriately insulates the industry from meaningful scrutiny and accountability. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit sided with the brokerage firm which said that […]
Better Markets filed a comment letter earlier this month in response to the SEC’s request for input on 10 possible reforms that the President’s Working Group laid out last December for recently bailed out money market funds (MMFs). Why this matters? Finishing the job of regulating MMFs is long overdue and vitally needed to avoid another taxpayer […]
People across the world were heartened on April 20th to see justice done when the jury handed down a guilty verdict in the George Floyd murder trial. In a statement, Better Markets’ Dennis Kelleher noted that if justice for all is to mean anything in America, the George Floyd verdict “must be just the beginning.” “Justice […]
There was a lot going on this month—from key nominations and appointments to House and Senate hearings, including as noted earlier, testimony by Dennis Kelleher before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on GameStop. We’ve listed a few of the other highlights of interest to our work at Better Markets below: Nominations/Appointments: The Senate Banking […]
Better Markets regularly joins with other public interest advocates and nonprofit organizations in support of regulatory action on a broad range of issues related to the economy, financial regulation, and social justice. Joining strong coalitions on critical issues that we support helps raise their visibility among key influencers, including regulators, legislators, interested members of the […]
Actions in the Federal Courts: Cases We’re Watching Better Markets continues to monitor decisions in a number of important pending cases, including Roderick Ford v. TD Ameritrade, as well as track key issues in the courts. Roderick Ford v. TD Ameritrade. In 2019, Better Markets filed an amicus brief in support of a class-action lawsuit alleging that brokers routinely violate […]
DOL Must Move Quickly to Protect Retirement Savers from Adviser Conflicts of Interest A Trump-era rule (that replaced an Obama administration rule) recently went into effect governing retirement investment betrays hardworking Americans saving for retirement and those already retired, says Better Markets. The Obama administration’s Department of Labor enacted a strong fiduciary duty rule that […]
SEC Takes Meaningful First Step to Punish, Deter Lawbreakers Better Markets applauded the SEC for redelegating authority to its enforcement staff so they can act more swiftly to detect and stop ongoing frauds, preserve assets and protect investors. Why it matters: Providing broader investigative authority to the SEC’s enforcement staff is critical to identifying, investigating, […]
Fed Must Improve, Update CRA for Underserved Communities In a comment letter to the Federal Reserve, Better Markets commended the agency for its plans to modernize bank rules for underserved communities but said the Fed must commit to some core principles as it develops a new rule. Why it matters: The CRA is a crucially important […]
Kelleher Named Among Most Influential People; Hall Named to New Sanctions and Fitness Commission Washingtonian Magazine named Dennis Kelleher as one of the most influential people in Washington in a special March issue. The issue, available at newsstands and via subscription, listed 250 of the most influential people who are “shaping policy,” […]
Cutting Through the Clutter: GameStop Hearing, Fact Sheets and Committee Letters The frenzied trading in some stocks, like GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond, pierced the public consciousness this month, resulting in lots of media coverage, a hearing on the Hill and even the White House press secretary fielding questions about it. These events have raised critical […]
Better Markets continues to watch for decisions in a number of important pending cases, including Roderick Ford v. TD Ameritrade, as well as track key issues in the courts. Roderick Ford v. TD Ameritrade. In 2019, Better Markets filed an amicus brief in support of a class-action lawsuit alleging that brokers routinely violate their duty to seek the […]
A whistleblower advocate filed a lawsuit challenging the SEC’s recent amendments to its whistleblower program as contrary to law, irrational and procedurally flawed as we argued when the rule was proposed. As readers know from prior newsletters, Better Markets is a relentless advocate for a strong SEC whistleblower program, which we detailed as a “$2 […]
Better Markets continues to update TRACERTM, a public resource that we launched last year to track and monitor all of the emergency actions taken by financial regulators in response to the coronavirus crisis. TRACERTM is divided into four categories: Banking, Securities, Derivatives and Consumer Protection. For each regulatory action, the tracker gives the date, a brief […]
Earlier this month, Better Markets filed a comment letter on an SEC proposal that would change the disclosures that mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are required to send to their investors. Why it matters. Investor disclosures are often technical, extremely long and poorly timed. Too often these important documents are unreadable and end up gathering […]
Better Markets joined efforts led by longtime allies and friends at Public Citizen and The Center for Responsible Lending to oppose a proposed rule from the OCC that would require banks to lend to risky and predatory industries, including oil companies and payday lenders. It appears that our efforts have been successful as the OCC […]
On Jan. 4, Better Markets filed a comment letter on a proposed rule that threatens to weaken the role of supervisory guidance in bank supervision. Why it matters. Supervisory guidance is a critical tool in bank regulation. It can inform the supervisory criticisms that regulators issue to identify and correct unsafe or potentially abusive practices in their […]
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