Financial Regulatory Reform

Overview

ICAN is working with Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) to reform financial regulation. AFR is a coalition of more than 200 national, state and local consumer, labor, investor, civil rights, community, small business, and senior citizen organizations that have come together to spearhead a campaign for real reform. Together, we are fighting for a banking and financial system based on accountability, fairness and security. The reckless and greedy behavior of big Wall Street banks caused a financial crisis that is costing us millions of jobs, billions of dollars in taxpayer funded bailouts, and trillions of dollars in lost homes and lost savings. We cannot afford to let this behavior continue.

What We are Fighting For

We are fighting for real reform that will protect working families and responsible businesses by cracking down on the abuses and the irresponsible behavior of big banks, credit card companies, and Wall Street insiders. We are working to hold Wall Street accountable and prevent another financial crisis. We cannot get our economy back on track or restore jobs and security without real reform, including:

  • Fair rules of the road for consumers, and a strong, effective Consumer Financial Protection Agency to set basic safety standards and protect families—and the market as a whole—from loans designed to trick and trap customers.
  • A banking system that helps people buy and stay in their homes and invests in communities and businesses to create good jobs and strong neighborhoods.
  • An end to big bank bailouts and megabanks that are "too big to fail."
  • Transparency for ALL financial products and markets, and an end to the casino economy, so that Wall street can't keep making "heads they win, tails we lose" bets with our money.
  • Executive compensation that rewards long-term value creation, not excessive risk-taking, and shareholder votes on executive pay.
  • The democratization of the Federal Reserve, so that it is transparent and accountable to the public and independent of banking industry control.

What We Do

The organizations that make up Americans for Financial Reform bring together remarkable expertise in policy, advocacy, mobilization, public outreach, media relations and legislative strategy.

Through a coordinated campaign, we are working to clean up Wall Street's mess and ensure that the job of rewriting the regulatory rulebook is not left to the inside players and financial predators who caused the problems we now face. Our goal is to see real financial reform legislation this year, during this unprecedented opportunity to win a more secure financial future.

Updates

June 30, 2010

Wall Street Reform: What We've Won and Lost on Financial Regulatory Reform

Nearly two years after Wall Street crashed our economy, and after a year of work, the House and Senate are finally ready to vote on a comprehensive package of Wall Street reforms. ICAN believes this bill is very significant and goes far toward holdinh Wall Street accountable, reversing the years of de-regulation and reining in the reckless behavior of big banks and predatory lenders. It is also a basis on which we can build for greater reform in the future.

May 21, 2010

Senator Grassley Votes to Filibuster Comprehensive Financial Reform Despite Support of 60% of Americans

Legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was dealt a setback yesterday when the Senate was unable to attain the 60 votes necessary to end debate and proceed to a vote. Despite the setback, Iowa Citizen Action Network is confident that strong financial reform will pass in the coming days.

May 20, 2010

What Financial Regulatory Reform Means

Key provisions go a long way preventing another financial crisis

Resources

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