By enhancing information on environmental, social, and governance matters in banking and facilitating competition, the CFPB and bank regulators can reduce financial abuses and empower consumers to align the financial system with sustainable values.
The climate crisis may have serious implications for agricultural finance.
Evidence suggests that large digital service platforms with market power deserve much closer antitrust scrutiny.
Consumer protections should be strengthened—not rolled back—as part of the economic response to the coronavirus.
The Federal Reserve must reverse course on costly bank capital mistakes that have increased the vulnerability of the banking system in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
To address the fact that economic shocks caused by climate change will reduce state and local tax collections and increase infrastructure costs—creating additional risks for municipal bond investors—state and local issuers should adopt new climate risk disclosure standards to ensure accurate risk assessment and bond pricing.
The public health and economic recovery hinge on the effective implementation and oversight of Congress’ coronavirus legislation.
Occupational segregation, employment discrimination, and exploitation make economic downturns, such as the one created by the COVID-19 pandemic, worse in communities of color by destabilizing jobs, undermining small businesses, and increasing income shocks and unexpected expenses.
Any new funding for the Paycheck Protection Program must provide immediate cash to the smallest businesses in order to protect them from the COVID-19 fallout.
Big reforms are necessary to protect public health, mitigate the risks of future outbreaks, and ensure the eventual recovery benefits most Americans.
Conditions on bailouts are necessary to protect workers and the public.
The column recommends an immediate package at least the size of the Recovery Act in 2009—around $1 trillion in today’s dollars.
U.S. regulators should protect the financial system from climate-related risks and help facilitate a smooth transition to a greener economy.
Improving the regulation of large, complex, and interconnected shadow banks and their activities would help to protect the economy from another financial collapse.
Regulators have taken several actions that needlessly increase the likelihood of another financial crisis.
