Hi Carolyn, 

When you sit down with friends and loved ones at the Thanksgiving table this week, the last thing you should be worried about is the economic security and circumstances of your family. Unfortunately, most Americans don’t have that luxury,  given skyrocketing costs, limited and decreasing opportunities, and economic anxiety. Remember, 50% of Americans—more than 150 Americans—own less than 2.5% of the wealth of country. That means they have little if anything in savings or emergency funds. They are living on the edge so when prices go up or jobs go down, catastrophe strikes. Anxiety is an ever-present reality for too many of our neighbors.  

That’s why we’re fighting for a better, fairer economy, one that provides more opportunity and security, and a financial system refocused on broad-based wealth creation, not wealth extraction (too often from those who can least afford it). That’s also why we’re fighting back against the mindless rollbacks of the most basic consumer and investor protections, weakening bank stability, unregulated crypto activities and crimes, and indefensible failures to protect veterans and service members from being targeted by scammers and fraudsters.  

Better Markets is the voice of Main Street Americans—those without wealth and lobbyists—in the halls of power in Washington from the rule-writing agencies and the Congress to the White House and the media. From tracking and combatting financial industry abuses to advocating for common sense rules and guardrails, our mission is clear: fight a rigged economy and financial system and promote an economic system that works for everyone.  

However, we can’t do this alone. That’s why I’m so grateful for our partners and supporters who make our work possible.  

Next week is Giving Tuesday, and we need your help.  Every dollar makes a difference and enables us fight for Main Street Americans, challenge the status quo, fearlessly speak truth to power, and push for sensible rules that benefit everyone—not just the already wealthy and well connected. I hope you will consider supporting us by making a financial gift. In the meantime, please read on for a summary of the ways we’ve been taking on special interests and standing up for Main Street this month.  

With gratitude,

Dennis 

Dennis M. Kelleher 
Co-founder, President, and CEO 

Financial readiness in the military is not just a personal matter—it is a national security issue. Our troops need to focus on their vital mission of protecting the nation, not on fighting off fraud. This season of gratitude is the perfect time for the Trump administration to honor the military community by protecting and strengthening the CFPB, ensuring that those who defend us can enjoy the peace of mind they deserve. 🇺🇸

Like carving the Thanksgiving turkey, Trump’s SEC is demolishing investor protection—threatening capital formation, families’ financial security, and America’s economic future.  It is moving decidedly away from its core historic mission of protecting investors and markets to protecting the financial industry and management. 

Seventeen years after the publication of Satoshi’s Bitcoin white paper, it’s clear that crypto isn’t the future of money. It’s a risky investment that threatens to gobble up the hard-earned resources of everyday Americans. Regulate it like other assets to safeguard jobs, savings, and stability. 🦃

This Thanksgiving, Better Markets is grateful for independent regulators who protect everyday Americans from financial harm. We joined an amicus brief in Trump v. Slaughter, urging the Supreme Court to uphold Congress’s authority to shield agency leaders from unjust firing—so that those leaders can defend the rules that protect families, workers, and retirees without fear of political retaliation.

The Fed clearly thinks it can do anything — cut any secret sweetheart deal, hand quid pro quo benefits to a few connected Wall Street insiders, ignore conflicts of interest, tell the public nothing, grease the revolving door, enrich a handful of very grateful potential future employers — and get away with it.

-– Dennis Kelleher in American Banker

November 3
Carney to present first budget after drawing cabinet from private sector

November 3
Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is making a play for redemption. Under Trump, it’s not so far-fetched

November 5
Banks buy back more stock as Fed weighs capital proposal

November 6 
Treasury Hears Banks, Crypto Orgs Spar Over Stablecoin Yield

Each month our legal team outlines some of the top cases we're keeping an eye on, the Amicus "Friend of the Court" Briefs we have filed, and why everyone with a bank account, credit card, mortgage loan, or retirement loan should be interested in those cases.  

Congress entered November facing the longest government shut down in history. On November 12th, Congress voted to end the shut down with a CR that goes until January 30th, 2026. After that, Committees only had one week of work in November with the Thanksgiving holiday recess.

Phillip Basil, Director of Economic Growth and Financial Stability, published an opinion piece in American Banker: “Community banks are vital to the economy; lawmakers should act like it.”

Fed Moves to Finalize Bank Capital Plan Tied to Treasuries
Bloomberg, November 11

A new spectre looms over democracy: prediction markets
Financial Times, November 16

The Crypto Industry’s $28 Billion in ‘Dirty Money’
The New York Times, November 17

The Fed Is Cutting Bank Oversight. Critics See Risks.
The New York Times, November 17