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Cities for Financial Empowerment to Ring The Opening Bell on April 11 as NYSE Euronext Commemorates Financial Literacy Week (April 9-13)
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Issues Principles for Prepaid Debit Cards
As general purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards grow in popularity, the CFE Coalition calls on policymakers and
providers to follow four basic principles to protect consumers, among them: strong regulation, free or low-cost features, enhanced
protections for payroll and benefit cards, and use of prepaid debit cards only after pursuing safe mainstream banking accounts first.
New York City Releases Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs
This first report of a planned series documents New York City’s work embedding one-on-one professional financial counseling
within several city services, including homeless prevention, workforce development, domestic violence interventions, and
the "supervitamin effect" of improved social service outcomes. The series will build the case that fully integrating financial empowerment
and asset building strategies into public programs will lead to more effective service delivery, improving outcomes while potentially saving money.
Report Praises Work of Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition
A report released by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED)
credited the CFE Coalition, co-chaired by New York City and San Francisco, with creating
the field of municipal financial empowerment.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Supports Proposal by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to Oversee and Enforce Overdraft Payment Programs
Calls on Other Bank Regulators to Adopt Similar Approach
On behalf of the CFE Coalition, CFE Co-Chair and New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and CFE Co-Chair and San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros
applauded the FDIC's proposed Overdraft Payment Supervisory Guidance for combining clear, concrete expectations for the financial institutions it supervises and strong enforcement.
The Coalition urged other federal bank regulators to adopt a similarly comprehensive approach for their regulated institutions.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Calls for Improvements to 2010 Draft National Strategy for Financial Literacy
On behalf of the CFE Coalition, CFE Co-Chair and New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and CFE Co-Chair and San
Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros urged the U.S. Department of Treasury to improve the Financial Literacy and Education Commission's Draft National
Strategy. Commissioner Mintz and Treasurer Cisneros expressed concern about the lack of concrete, actionable steps that would actually lead to an
increase in quality financial education and counseling and recommended expressly linking the National Strategy to financial access initiatives
underway at the federal level.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Urges Reform of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Regulations
On behalf of the CFE Coalition, CFE Co-Chair and New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and
CFE Co-Chair and San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros submitted written testimony to federal banking agencies recommending
ways to leverage CRA more effectively in connecting communities to safe, affordable banking products and services.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Weighs in on Consumer Provisions of Financial Overhaul Bill
On behalf of the CFE Coalition, CFE Co-Chair and New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and CFE Co-Chair and San
Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros submitted a letter to key members of the Senate and the House. The letter highlights three points to help guide the decisions of the Senate and House on the financial overhaul bills.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Comments on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Proposed
Templates for Safe, Low-Cost Transactional and Basic Savings Accounts
On behalf of the CFE Coalition, CFE Co-Chair and New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and CFE Co-Chair and San
Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros offered recommendations to the FDIC on proposed templates for safe and affordable accounts.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Comments on Amendment That Would Exempt
Auto Dealers from New Lending Rules
CFE Co-Chair and New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and CFE Co-Chair and
San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros urged the Senate to oppose Senate Amendment #3789.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Stresses Overdraft Legislation as a Top Priority
The CFE Coalition urged Congress to pass legislation requiring banks to obtain the consent of their
customers before enrolling them in fee-based overdraft protection plans, noting the urgency of federal
legislation to strengthen the newly issued Federal Reserve Board rules on overdraft. In addition, the CFE
Coalition urged Congress to require real-time choice not only at ATMs, but also for debit card purchases.
Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Urges Creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)
The 10 member cities of the CFE Coalition urged Congress to create the CFPA to improve access to safe and affordable
financial products and increase fairness and transparency in the financial services industry.
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