Sarah Bloom Raskin is one of the distinguished leaders of the financial services sector, having served as Deputy Treasury Secretary under President Obama from March of 2014 until January of 2017, as the highest-ranking woman in Treasury Department history. She served as a Federal Reserve Board Governor from 2010 to 2014, where she helped steward the American economy through one of the most challenging economic periods of the past century.

The American Financial Services Association is pleased to welcome Brian Johnson to the 2019 AFSA Annual Meeting in Nashville.

AFSA CHALLENGES NEW NEVADA CREDIT PROVISIONFederal preemption makes new state requirement impossible to implement

AFSA's State Government Affairs team published its monthly white paper today, covering the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which becomes effective January 1, 2020. The white paper describes the current provisions of the CCPA and takes an in-depth look into the changes made to the law over the 2019 legislative session. It also details the actions the state attorney general has taken thus far in the rulemaking process. In addition, the paper provides an overview of data privacy laws introduced in other states this legislative session.

AFSA remained heavily engaged in key issues yesterday, submitting a comment letter on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and attending a House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) meeting on the FDCPA.

AFSA is pleased to welcome nine new member companies to the association.

The American Financial Services Association on September 25th submitted a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) expressing its strong support for HR 1595, the bipartisan-backed Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. Sponsored by Representatives Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Denny Heck (D-WA), Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Warren Davidson (R-OH), along with more than 200 other members of the House, the SAFE Act in part ends Operation Choke Point. Specifically, it prohibits a federal banking agency from ordering a bank to terminate a banking relationship with a legal business unless there is a valid reason and that reason is not based solely on reputational risk.

The New York Federal Reserve reported yesterday that as many as 60 million Americans — possibly twice the number previously estimated — struggle to qualify for credit. Unlike the “credit invisible” population that often resorts to payday lenders and pawn shops, these individuals have adequate credit files but are turned down because of low credit scores, a maxed-out credit card, or late payments. According to the New York Fed, these borrowers tend to be rural residents with lower income and higher rates of joblessness. African Americans and Hispanics also reportedly have, overall, a tougher time qualifying for loans.

At least one of the examinations the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) completed in 2018 included instances in which auto lenders sold a GAP product to consumers under circumstances which the CFPB found led to an abusive practice. The regulator noted that lenders sold a GAP product to consumers whose low loan-to-value (LTV) meant that they would not benefit from the product.