Better Markets

@bettermarkets.bsky.social

An independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit promoting the economic security, opportunity & prosperity of the American people. https://linktr.ee/bettermarkets

The CFTC just proposed a rule that would define swaps to include event contracts on sporting events. The rule suggests that the CFTC can’t tell the difference between betting on sports and trading financial derivatives. Link below.

CFTC logo in front of gambling chips.

The SEC just released a report suggesting large asset managers violated the law by engaging with an org seeking to influence public companies' climate policies. That's a ridiculous attack on investors concerned about climate change and its impact on their investments. Link below.

Image of planet Earth choked with air pollution.

A bedrock of the SEC’s mission is to protect investors through strong enforcement that deters wrongdoing. But the SEC's recent failure to take adequate action against a lawbreaking CFO shows that under Chair Atkins, it isn't serious about fulfilling that mission. Link below.

Image of shadowy businessmen in front of a report.

The basic facts of Silicon Valley Bank's failure are undisputed. But rather than act to prevent the next failure, the Fed is paying consultants to write reports while the rules that enabled the 2023 banking crisis failure remain on its books. Link to our full op-ed below.

Federal Reserve Board of Governors logo.

The CFTC's new proposal blesses crypto and prediction market business structures, unleashing a new wave of conglomerates that prioritize crypto and prediction market profits over fair competition and customer protection. See the link below to learn how this endangers investors.

Image of numbers in the red.

Coming this Thursday: Better Markets will host a thought-provoking conversation on building a people-centered AI agenda with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Better Markets' Director of AI, Innovation, and Economic Opportunity, Evan LeFlore. Register via the link below.

Header with more information on the October 8th webinar.

Today, the CFTC indicated that it wants to adopt new rules to legitimize crypto assets and give the crypto industry what it has long desired. See the link below to learn more about what that means for the future of the industry and investor protection.

Image of crypto coins.

Coming soon: the second annual State of Economic & Financial Policymaking Conference. This event will bring together leading scholars, policymakers, and advocates to explore today’s economic challenges. Registration link in the comments.

Save the date graphic for the October 23rd academic advisory board conference.

Bank regulators are proposing to turn confidential supervisory information into a business asset that banks can circulate to third parties—including their own lobbyists—as they see fit without prior approval. This proposal will hurt supervision and should be withdrawn. See the link below.

Image of a typewriter, magnifying glass, and dossier labeled "confidential."

The OCC has decided to handcuff its own supervisors by proposing unjustified binding limits on how examiners can correct bank risks before they escalate into failures and crises. This reckless approach won't stand the test of time. The OCC should withdraw the proposal. Link below.

Image of the OCC logo.

Four years after the Basel Committee reduced capital requirements for European megabanks without public feedback, it is finally seeking comment on this critical policy decision. Better Markets has long called for this accountability. Learn why it matters below.

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September was as busy as ever for Better Markets. Take a look at our newsletter, linked below, to learn about our lawsuit against the Fed, our upcoming webinar on AI, our upcoming conference on the most critical issues affecting our economy today, and so much more.

Collage of images of happy Americans with text reading "monthly newsletter" at the bottom.

As the Supreme Court’s next term starts on Monday, the Court will soon issue key decisions that affect the economic and financial well-being of all Americans. See the link below to learn about the cases to watch out for.

Image of a court exterior.

The rules the SEC proposed today would allow the financial industry to prey on unsuspecting retail investors by exposing them to risky private market assets. That's an alarming failure to fulfill the SEC's mission to protect investors. Link below.

Two hands hold an empty wallet.

For the largest U.S. banks, the Fed’s stress test has already become an expensive charade with no additional capital requirement beyond the minimum buffer. The changes announced this morning make that problem worse and put Americans at greater risk.

Exterior of the Federal Reserve building.

Retail investors deserve to get the best price available in the market when they trade. But unfortunately, proposed new rules threaten to make that harder. See the link below to learn what that means for your financial future.

FINRA logo on the side of a building.

The Fed’s stablecoin proposal fails to include guardrails essential to protecting depositors, banks, the financial system, taxpayers, and our economy. See the link below to learn more about this critical financial stability issue.

Text reading "STABLECOIN" on a technological blue background.

Since 2008, the Federal Reserve has struggled with a critical question: do its own bank rules make banks hold more Treasuries or fewer? The answer shapes borrowing costs, market stability, and your mortgage rate. Our new Substack explains what's at stake.

Image of a Treasury Bond in front of the Federal Reserve building.

Today, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman refused accountability, claiming that she and the rules she voted to weaken were blameless for the 2023 failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Instead, she insists that the fault lies with Fed career staff. Link below.

Image of Bowman, the report, and the Silicon Valley Bank collapsing.

Under Chair Atkins, the SEC has proven it will do anything to benefit the crypto industry—including endangering investors by exempting crypto companies that want to facilitate tokenized stock trading from the federal securities laws. Link below.

A phone with the SEC logo on it is surrounded by crypto coins.

Today, the SEC proposed to eliminate a basic shareholder right—the right to submit proposals on matters that shareholders consider important to the company. This is the latest move on the part of the SEC to silence shareholders. Link in the comments.

SEC logo.

Tomorrow, the SEC will host a roundtable on 24-hour stock trading and the preparedness for a 24-hour market. But if the SEC is determined to allow 24-hour trading even when it admits the market would be unprepared, there seems to be little point to the roundtable. Link below.

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Eugene Goldman has joined our team as Senior Advisor for Securities Policy. Eugene's experience and expertise will advance our work to protect investors and support durable, sustainable economic growth.

Today, investors face greater peril than at any other time in recent memory because current SEC Chair Atkins has made it his mission to eliminate disclosure requirements. That's a shift away from the SEC's decades-long mission to protect investors. Link below.

An investor checks his phone and laptop.

Yesterday, we sued the Fed for corrupting the rulemaking process for the Bank Capital Rules. But what are the Bank Capital Rules, and how do they affect everyday Americans? Dennis Kelleher explains:

The Fed is meant to be an honest broker when enacting rules to protect hardworking Americans from Wall Street’s biggest, most dangerous banks. It should not turn that process into a charade by secretly meeting with and coaching the biggest banks to rig key financial protections.

Lady Justice holds tilted scales.