B.S. Street: Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups
July 14, 2011 11:00 PM
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy
Sounds like: A group anyone can get behind. Who wouldn't support "sensible" policies?
What it is: Strange-bedfellows alliance of mortgage lenders and housing advocates lobbying to soften mortgage rules in the Dodd-Frank Act. (Photo: National Association of Realtors)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Community Financial Services Association of America
Sounds like: A band of grass-roots neighborhood advocates.
What it is: Trade group for payday lenders (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Coalition for Fair and Affordable Lending
Sounds like: A civil rights group protesting redlining in the 1970s.
What it was: Lobbying group for subprime lenders from the mid-2000s (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Homeownership Preservation Foundation
Sounds like: A philanthropic foundation
What it is: This counseling nonprofit started as an in-house group at GMAC and is still funded by the industry (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Coalition for Credit Union Charter Options
Sounds like: A group devoted to preserving the credit union charter.
What it is: The opposite — it's a lobbying group that supports a credit union's right to convert to a bank (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Consumer Mortgage Coalition
Sounds like: A Nader-inspired consumerist group.
What it is: Lobbying group for the largest mortgage originators (Photo: Bloomberg News)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: FM Watch
Sounds like: A watchdog group, or a timepiece with built-in radio.
What it was: Coalition of big banks and mortgage insurers that lobbied to reign in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then viewed as competitors. Later renamed FM Policy Focus (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: ACA International
Sounds like: A white-shoe law firm, global consultancy or perhaps an airline.
What it is: Trade group for debt collectors (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Insured Retirement Institute
Sounds like: A group dedicated to retirement security
What they do: Sell annuities (formerly the National Association for Variable Annuities) (Photo: ThinkStock)
Misleadingly Named Financial-Services Trade Groups: Your Credit Card Companies
Sounds like: Exactly what it was. This industry organization, which published fraud-protection tips for consumers, has apparently disbanded. (Photo: ThinkStock)
