The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) today submitted a comment letter to Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) urging that he amend H.R. 8235 the Open Courts Act. The bill, as drafted, would allow free access to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) database. AFSA supports public access to the PACER system but […]

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the National Defense Authorization Act. President Trump has threatened to veto the bill citing  its lack of legislative language removing legal liability protections for social media companies. The House vote was 335-78, which is above the two-thirds threshold needed to override a Presidential veto. The annual defense measure is considered “must pass,” and the Senate is expected to approve it next week before it heads to the […]

Friday was officially Director Kathleen Kraninger’s second anniversary as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The second year of Director Kraninger’s tenure has been marked with unprecedented challenges as the American people dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic disruption it has caused for businesses and consumers alike. During the pandemic, the […]

Join us on December 17 at 2:00 p.m. ET for Essentials for Success in the New Economy: Gaining ROI on Digital Strategies, presented by The shift to digital financial services has been happening for years, but COVID has been a reality check for firms to create a high-touch digital experience to stay competitive. Without clear line-of-sight into […]

2020 has been an unprecedented year for all of us. It has, however, reinforced that consumer credit of all types is crucial to sustaining American businesses and households. Just as our members adapted to meet the financial needs of their customers, the American Financial Services Association adapted to leverage the relationships we have built over […]

AFSA’s State Government Affairs (SGA) team recently sent a comment letter to the Texas Supreme Court regarding proposed amendments to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure that would permit electronic service of citation by social media, email, or other technology. In the letter, AFSA voiced its concerns regarding these amendments, arguing that electronic service should […]

As we approach the close of 2020, I want to provide an update on the many successes of the AFSA Education Foundation. Most importantly, I thank our AFSA members for their support. In 2020, the foundation marked its 30th anniversary. To celebrate this significant milestone, we conducted a successful radio media tour in February, which […]

This week, AFSA responded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) request for information (RFI) on identifying ways to prevent credit discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and expand access to credit for underserved communities. The association’s letter explained, “AFSA and its members support the Bureau in its mission to create a regulatory […]

This week, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified before the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee to discuss the federal government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Both hearings centered around the state of economic recovery, the spike in COVID-19 cases, and a controversial decision by Secretary […]

This week, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a statement encouraging banks to transition away from the U.S. dollar (USD) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) in a timely manner. LIBOR is used globally as a short-term interest […]