AG Coakley Supports ‘Wall Street Reform’

Attorney General Martha Coakley released the following statement in support of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Medford resident recently joined President Barack Obama when he signed the financial reform legislation into law.

The bill signed by the President today provides for better accountability and transparency in our financial system, increased protections for American taxpayers by ending bailouts and preventing abusive financial services practices, and the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to help protect consumers when they make investments, take out mortgages, and use credit cards. Learn more about this new law on WhiteHouse.gov.

As your Attorney General, I have seen how important financial reform has become for consumers. Since the onset of the economic crisis, we’ve worked to hold Wall Street accountable, recovering money for Massachusetts homeowners and taxpayers. We’ve taken action on behalf of Massachusetts consumers against big banks and Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, Fremont Investment and Loan, Countrywide, Merrill Lynch, and, most recently, Morgan Stanley. And, we’ve achieved real results: recovering over $440 million in relief for investors and borrowers; providing mortgage relief for more than 15,000 homeowners; and returning over $50 million in taxpayer funds to the Commonwealth.

These national reforms will help ensure that Massachusetts residents are better protected from abusive lending practices, and will not only help stabilize our economy, but will also help prevent future meltdowns. I applaud the House and Senate for their efforts in passing these reforms, and I was honored to be in attendance as President Obama signed it into law.