logo Standing Up To Powerful Interests
IssuesNewsReportsDonateHow You Can HelpResultsAbout CALPIRGCALPIRG Education FundCALPIRG Blog JOBS

ISSUES

Reining In Wall Street

 

What's New

The House passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on December 11. (Read the press release.)

Ed Mierzwinski, our Federal Consumer Program Director, said the bill is "a major step" and includes a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

However, Mierzwinski warned, "despite the collapse of our economy due to a financial regulatory system that failed," when the bill is considered in the Senate it still faces "a gauntlet of special-interest lobbyists looking for exceptions and loopholes."

CALPIRG and its allies at Americans For Financial Reform are working to strengthen the bill.

Among other measures, CALPIRG wants to assure that all trading is brought out from behind closed doors, and that state attorneys general, who are effectively the consumer "cops on the local beat," are able to protect the citizens of their states.

The House bill includes a CALPIRG-backed provision to audit the Federal Reserve Board.

Provisions concerning coverage of the shadow markets, including derivatives and credit default swaps are also present in the House bill, but are not perfect. The bill takes positive steps to eliminate institutions that are too big to fail and to protect investors, although both areas should be improved in the final law.

For more details, read Mierzwinski's In The Public Interest blog on the Huffington Post, written Dec. 7.

The Senate is expected to take up the bill in early 2010.



Overview

For too long, the rules of Wall Street have been written by the bankers themselves. The result? Our economy collapsed. This year, that has to change.

Our economy collapsed because of a lack of strong consumer protections. That's why reform must include establishment of a strong, independent consumer financial product agency with the will and the authority to protect consumers from dangerous, deceptive financial practices.

We also need broad reforms to guarantee that regulators do their safety and soundness job, that systemic risk is reduced and all the players are covered.

Now that we know that a few investment firms can undermine the larger economy, we must take steps to protect taxpayers and consumers.

• We need to rein in the excesses of Wall Street. No more hidden accounting practices or demanding that we invest our retirement savings blindly. 

• We need to protect consumers and our economic future with new rules to put a check on irresponsible banking practices and we need to make sure those rules are enforced.

• We need independent enforcement.

No more cozy relationships between regulators and the regulated.

.



Our Federal Consumer Program Director, Ed Mierzwinski, gives a history of the current financial crisis, and reviews the U.S. PIRG, our national federation, plan of action.

Resource

NEWS

 

SEARCH THIS SITE
California Public Interest Research Group
CALPIRG has offices in: Los Angeles - San Francisco - Sacramento
Main Office: 1107 9th St. Suite 601
Sacramento, CA 95814