FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Contact: Doug Walker at 202-618-6430 or [email protected] WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, released the following statement in response to the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it is creating two standing repo facilities, one each for domestic and foreign firms: “By creating standing […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Contact: Pamela Russell at 202-618-6433 or [email protected] CNBC Posts Edited Video from House Financial Services’ GameStop Hearing, Deleting Dennis Kelleher’s Key Testimony Criticizing Citadel Washington, D.C. – Dennis M. Kelleher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to revelations that CNBC […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 22, 2020 Contact: Pamela Russell at 202-618-6433 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis M. Kelleher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the announced settlement between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (Goldman) regarding its criminal conduct […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 3, 2020 Contact: [email protected] or 202-618-6433 Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by the Department of Labor on opening up defined contribution plan investments in private equity. “The last thing the Department of Labor should be doing is […]
Although we express significant reservations about certain elements of the SEC’s proposal, in particular the abandonment of the asset segregation framework and the introduction of new proposed derivatives-related leverage limitations (the relative and absolute value-at-risk (VaR) approach), we support initial steps to implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for funds using derivatives-related leverage and posing derivatives-related risks to the […]
On March 2, 2020, former CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, tweeted the following regarding the Coronavirus crisis: “Good risk management: at this point, go all-in on social separation, and all-in on financial relief to those most economically vulnerable (individuals and sm biz). Save the second guessing for later. I would welcome [it] if we […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, March 11, 2020 Contact: Press at [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Lev Bagramian, Senior Securities Policy Advisor of Better Markets, issued the following statement in advance of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) final rule rolling back Sarbanes-Oxley’s 404(b)’s requirement that auditors attest to the adequacy of certain companies’ internal controls: “Today’s […]
To protect Main Street Americans — consumers, investors, homeowners, students, soldiers, retirees and the elderly — from predatory financial behavior and financial instability that can lead to devastating financial crashes like 2008, the Dodd Frank law created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). It was designed to be and has been a powerful, independent and […]
RIP FSOC As it Puts Another Nail Into Its Own Coffin, Endangering all Americans The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was an innovation created by Dodd-Frank in response to several clear lessons learned in the 2008 crash. It was primarily to ensure that: 1. all financial regulators would meet jointly to address cross-jurisdictional financial matters; 2. […]
Paul Volcker: Banks’ Focus on Profits Shows Misplaced Priorities When former Fed Chair Paul Volcker talks, people listen. Or at least they ought to listen, as there are few public servants whose experience in both time and breadth can compare to Mr. Volcker. In his recent interview with industry analyst Mike Mayo and the CFA Institute, […]
The big banks have reaped tens of billions of dollars thanks to the Trump tax cuts according to the fourth quarter report on bank performance by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Banks garnered an astounding $28.8 billion in additional income, more than a third of their previous year’s income. This comes as reports continue to show that American […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, November 5, 2018 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Better Markets President and CEO, Dennis Kelleher, issued the following statement on the unanimous vote by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding the so-called de minimis swaps trading exception threshold: “While the $8 billion swaps dealer registration threshold […]
To: Interested Parties From: Better Markets/The Harris Poll Date: September 12, 2018 Re: Survey Finds Voters’ Reject Financial Regulation Rollback Majority of registered voters reject Washington’s focus on weakening financial protections by deregulation on banks that got bailouts after the financial crisis of 2008-2009 and see it as more evidence of the culture of corruption […]
Wall Street Thrives Even with Financial Rules Protecting Consumers, Investors, Home Owners andHardworking Main Street Families When the Dodd-Frank financial protection law was passed in 2010 — and virtually nonstop since then — the financial industry and its political allies have claimed that it would kill banks’ revenue, profits and ability to lend. Yet, year-after-year […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, March 29, 2018 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Stephen W. Hall, Legal Director and Securities Specialist for Better Markets, issued this statement in support of the new standards of professional conduct issued today by the CFP Board of Standards: “We commend the CFP Board for its actions today, which strengthen the […]
First, this is not the priority of the American people, but it is why they think Washington is out-of-touch and corrupt. Matt Yglesias has a must-read piece in Vox concisely detailing why the bill is unnecessary, dangerous and politically dumb. Take the two minutes to read it. And, then ask yourself: do the American people […]
The 2008 financial crash was the worst since the great crash of 1929 and caused the worst economy since the Great Depression. It has cost the United States more than $20 trillion in lost GDP and tens of millions of Americans are still recovering from lost homes, jobs, savings, stagnant wages and crushing student loan […]
The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) held their annual conference, this year called “Reawaking” to explore how we got to where we are today—and how we might avoid the mistakes of the past and imagine a better direction for the future. At the most recent annual conference held by the Institute for […]
The process is mandatory, not optional – And it’s typically imposed in the fine print of a standard “contract of adhesion” that often goes unnoticed and allows no room for negotiation by the consumer. Panels are biased – Typically comprised of people either involved in the industry or with a prior history of working on […]
The process is mandatory, not optional – And it’s typically imposed in the fine print of a standard “contract of adhesion” that often goes unnoticed and allows no room for negotiation by the consumer. Panels are biased – Typically comprised of people either involved in the industry or with a prior history of working on […]
The Dangerous Deregulation of AIG: Incentivizing a Bailout Culture and Cycle Hope you saw our Special Newsletter on FSOC’s deregulation of AIG on Monday, which you can read here. Bloomberg’s Matt Levine again concisely captured the problem of incentivizing a bailout culture that will lead to a bailout cycle: “[G]iven AIG’s centrality to the last […]
A new report by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s professional staff demolishes industry claims that Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule have harmed capital formation and liquidity. The exhaustive report[1]covers over 300 pages and “includes a comprehensive assessment of a large body of recent research in addition to original analysis performed by [SEC] staff.” The combination of […]
The Cost of the Crisis Report details how the 2008 financial crash and the economic catastrophe it caused will cost the United States more than $20 trillion. The Report was released the day before the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the historic Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law, the most comprehensive financial […]
As President Trump and his Chairman of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, join Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), Angus King (I-ME) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in talking about “breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks” and bringing back “a Glass Steagall-type law,” we thought it would be useful to address the following questions: What is Glass-Steagall? What happened to […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 2017 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Following today’s decision by the Supreme Court limiting the SEC’s ability to issue disgorgement orders, Dennis M. Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets released the following statement: “The Supreme Court decision today on disgorgement is wrong. Disgorgement is not […]
As President Trump and his Chairman of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, join Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), Angus King (I-ME) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in talking about “breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks” and bringing back “a Glass Steagall-type law,” we thought it would be useful to address the following questions: What […]
As President Trump and his Chairman of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, join Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), Angus King (I-ME) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in talking about “breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks” and bringing back “a Glass Steagall-type law,” we thought it would be useful to address the following questions: What […]
Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, engaged in an egregious, years-long, illegal practice of ripping off millions of customers. It fraudulently opened and funded millions of bogus accounts with stolen customer money. In addition to falsely inflating revenue, profits and bonuses, these activities almost certainly manipulated the bank’s stock price. […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 10, 2017 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement following the release of a report from the Wells Fargo Board of Directors on its bogus account scandal: “The self-investigation and actions reported today by the Board […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 6, 2017 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement following comments by NEC Chair Gary Cohn in support of restoring a Glass-Steagall-like financial protection: “We welcome NEC Chairman Gary Cohn’s reported possible support for restoring a […]
Better Markets released an extensive Cost of the Crisis Report detailing how the 2008 financial crash and the economic catastrophe it caused will cost the United States more than $20 trillion. The Report was released the day before the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the historic Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act into […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] CAT PLAN FAILS TO PROTECT INVESTORS, RID MARKET OF DISRUPTIVE AND MANIPULATIVE PRACTICES Washington, D.C. – Lev Bagramian, Senior Securities Policy Advisor at Better Markets, issued this statement on today’s approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Consolidated Audit Trail […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 22, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Better Markets today announced the addition of three new members of the organization’s Board of Directors: mathematician, former Google software engineer and investor David desJardins; former Alcoa and Citigroup executive and M&A legal and strategy expert Mike Schell; and Vermont […]
Better Markets released an extensive Cost of the Crisis Report detailing how the 2008 financial crash and the economic catastrophe it caused will cost the United States more than $20 trillion. The Report was released the day before the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the historic Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act into […]
A Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to place caps on registered investment firms’ exposures to derivatives is showing the hallmarks of a classic Washington battle — the industry is trying to tamp down advocacy groups’ requests for broad regulations. Although the SEC hasn’t announced its plans, lobbyists who have been watching the derivatives rule expect the agency […]
BREAKING NEWS on Too-Big-to-Fail: The Financial Stability Board (FSB) just reported that the “World’s Biggest Banks Still Pose Too-Big-To-Fail Risk“: “The world’s biggest banks still can’t be wound down in an orderly manner nearly eight years after the financial crash, the Financial Stability Board said, calling for renewed efforts to tackle the risks posed by […]
Better Markets released an extensive Cost of the Crisis Report detailing how the 2008 financial crash and the economic catastrophe it caused will cost the United States more than $20 trillion. The Report was released the day before the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the historic Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act into […]
Better Markets released an extensive Cost of the Crisis Report detailing how the 2008 financial crash and the economic catastrophe it caused will cost the United States more than $20 trillion. The Report was released the day before the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the historic Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act into […]
“Saving for retirement means navigating a potential minefield of high fees and bad advice. Billy Eichner and Kristin Chenoweth share some tips.”
“Hillary Clinton is sinking in national polls, shackled by dismal favorability ratings and facing a brutal general election campaign against a Category 5 political hurricane who seems impervious to any traditional lines of attack. “Perhaps Clinton needs a Donald Trump of her own? Perhaps she needs a maverick who literally owns the Mavericks.” *** “I don’t believe […]
“Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Tuesday that sweeping financial reforms put in place under President Barack Obama were harming the economy and he would dismantle nearly all of them. Trump told Reuters in an interview that he would release a plan in about two weeks for overhauling the 2010 financial regulatory law known […]
“The flower-delivery service had a downbeat outlook for the holiday because it fell on a Sunday, a problematic day of the week, Chief Executive Robert Apatoff told investors during a March 10 conference call. Consumers are more likely to buy flowers in person on a Sunday, reducing FTD’s online orders.” *** “The events that companies highlight […]
Living wills are critical to eliminating or minimizing the threat of too-big-to-fail, but the process to date has been far too opaque for anyone to determine if the “living wills” that have been submitted are credible or will do the job as intended. The Dodd Frank Act provided regulators with substantial authority and powers to […]
A dangerous court decision to deregulate the shadow banking system’s systemically significant nonbanks like AIG and MetLife: The 2008 financial crash was caused by supposedly highly regulated systemically significant banks like Citigroup and Bank of America as well as mostly unregulated systemically significant nonbanks like AIG, Lehman Brothers and money market funds. Those nonbanks are the […]
On November 12, 1999, the Glass Steagall Act, which was put in place after the Great Depression and protected taxpayers for more than 60 years, was repealed. In a must-read editorial titled The Lessons of Repealing Glass Steagall, President and CEO Dennis Kelleher discusses why the law was so important and the debate about it that’s happening […]
“This spring, traders and analysts working deep in the global swaps markets began picking up peculiar readings: Hundreds of billions of dollars of trades by U.S. banks had seemingly vanished. “We saw strange things in the data,” said Chris Barnes, a former swaps trader now with ClarusFT, a London-based data firm. “The vanishing of the […]
“WASHINGTON (MNI) – In the Washington arena where the financial industry jousts with public interest groups, the hills – including Capitol Hill – are alive with the sound of money and television ads and speeches and the little chimes of many, many emailed press releases reaching inboxes.” *** “Better Markets, an advocacy group that supports […]
The Chamber of Commerce has been hiding behind small businesses as they try to derail the Department of Labor’s (DOL) best interest rule protecting Americans’ retirement security. But don’t fall for their misleading claims. The DOL’s rule will ensure small business owners who provide their employees with Simplified Employee Pension Plans and SIMPLE IRAs receive […]
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