Dear friend,
If you feel like the economy is tilted even more against hardworking Americans over the past year, you’re right. In the first 365 days of Trump’s second term, this administration hasn’t just tapped the brakes on de-rigging the economy—it’s thrown the car into reverse and floored it. Look no further than the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau—the watchdog that provided more than $21 billion in relief for nearly 200 million Americans. The CFPB has been practically wiped out and shut down by the Trump administration, leaving everyone with a savings or checking account, debit or credit card, or loan of any type wide open to financial predators, fraudsters, and scammers.
Enforcement actions have been dropped, staff slashed, and protections for servicemembers and veterans gutted. Meanwhile, corporate America, Wall Street’s biggest banks, and CEOs are getting what they want: a world where the cops are off the financial beat, which is a world where unscrupulous financial firms get to keep the predatory profits they ripped off from you and your neighbors.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg in how this administration is gutting customer, investor and financial stability protections and endangering our economy—from its crusade against community banks and unleashing unregulated crypto to attacking independent policymaking and protecting management not investors. To see the full picture, take a moment to read our recent Trump Administration 2025-2026 Report Card for yourself. It’s a damning indictment that details the facts showing exactly how Main Street families are being harmed.
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As you can see, rather than de-rigging the economy and making it work for all Americans, these actions keep them on a treadmill. No matter how hard they work, everyday Americans just can’t get ahead. You don’t have to believe us. You can read what the American people are saying as recently as January 26, 2026 here.
While the damage is immediate, real and painful, much of it will be reversible. These are policy choices. The same policies and structures that are being torn down can be rebuilt stronger. The key now is to continue to shine a light on what’s happening. We must track, expose, oppose, and amplify what is being done; who is being hurt and who is benefiting; and why it is wrong. As Justice Brandeis said long ago, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Transparency makes it harder for powerful interests to operate unchecked. It also provides a roadmap for identifying the wrong policy choices and illuminates a path forward.
We continue to fight these dangerous and pernicious actions every day, week, and month, but we’re also playing the long game, laying the groundwork to rebuild better, stronger, and more durable. We’re grateful for all our partners and allies who stand with us in this fight—it’s real and it’s important. The American people are needlessly suffering. Together we will change that and make America a better country, one that stands with and for the 90%, not just the already wealthy and well-connected. Read on to see how we’re entering 2026 ready to meet the moment. I hope you’ll join us.
Sincerely,
Dennis
Dennis M. Kelleher
Co-founder, President, and CEO
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America’s largest banks have spent decades breaking the law with stunning regularity—and getting away with it. Their rap sheets read like a greatest-hits album of financial crime, touching nearly every corner of illegal conduct. Our Rap Sheet Report shows the pattern isn’t slowing down: recent violations include facilitating sex trafficking, rigging markets, defrauding customers, and discriminating against communities. At the same time, consumer complaints and consumer-law violations are exploding, adding yet more proof that much greater enforcement is needed—at the very time the Trump administration is taking the cops off the financial beats.
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Under the current administration, banking regulators are actively dismantling bank supervision and effectively letting bank CEOs supervise themselves, which is what happened before the 2008 financial crash. At the same time, regulators are pushing to roll back capital requirements, returning banks to the dangerously thin cushions they had before the 2008 crash—a proven recipe for failure. This endangers community banks, Main Street borrowers, and long‑term economic growth. Without tough supervision, banks will take on more risk with less capital to absorb losses, making future failures and bailouts nearly inevitable.
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Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve are a classic misdirection—an effort to shift attention and blame away from his own failed economic policies. As Trump rails against the Fed, his tariffs, tax giveaways to the wealthy, and reckless deregulation continue to hurt workers, farmers, and small businesses. Meanwhile prices skyrocket and life becomes unaffordable. The Fed is Trump’s scapegoat; the real culprit is his economic actions that leave Main Street Americans paying the price.
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Community banks support Main Street businesses, households, and farms far more than large banks do. They already face an unlevel playing field that’s tipped heavily in favor of big banks. Actions taken by this administration are making it even worse. The banking agencies must turn their upside-down policy framework right side-up and support our community banks if they are serious about supporting the real economy, jobs, and Main Street Americans.
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Better Markets in the News
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| These kinds of gambling markets are almost entirely unregulated. The CFTC is supposed to regulate, but it doesn't have the money, personnel or expertise to do it. This isn't a case of light-touch regulation — it's a case of no-touch regulation.
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Fighting for the Public Interest at the Rule Writing Agencies
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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.
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Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill in 2026 with an impending funding deadline and a slate of hearings to kick off the second session of the 119th Congress. They also faced continued attacks on the independence of the Fed and launched an investigation into suspicious prediction market trades.
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Dennis Kelleher spoke with CBS News about the possible insider trading of national security information in unregulated prediction markets.
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