Blog
Let’s end ‘reputational risk’ debanking once and for all
Although this legislative session is near its end, Congress still has the opportunity to take an important step to ensure that financial regulation is…
Letters
CEI joins coalition against federal intrusion of bank licensing
Dear Chairman Warsh: Left-wing advocacy groups are urging federal regulators to block the bank license applications of fintech lenders…
Blog
Wisconsin threatens to strip the vote from prediction market participants
Many actions today are termed “threats to democracy,” and this is often an exaggeration. But the term fits to a tee the Wisconsin Elections…
Letters
CEI leads free-market Coalition Letter applauding SEC Proposal to End Quarterly Reporting Mandate With Semiannual Option
Dear Chairman Atkins: As leaders of conservative and free-market organizations interested in reducing red tape that limits opportunities for middle-class investors and entrepreneurs,…
Blog
The deregulatory de novo pony in the housing bill
Ronald Reagan once told a story about an optimistic boy placed in a room filled with “quite a quantity of what they clean…
Comment
CEI Comments on Federal Reserve’s Regulatory Capital Rules
Dear Mr. McDonough, On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I am pleased to comment to the Board of Governors of the Federal…
Bloomberg Tax
SEC Proposes Scaling Back Auditor Testing of Fraud Safeguards
Most US-listed companies would be exempt from requirements they hire an outside auditor to field test safeguards meant to ensure investors can rely on…
Washington Post
A simple step by Europe could loosen Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz
John Berlau is director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. As European nations ponder unilateral actions to bring shipping back to…
Blog
Deputizing banks for citizenship verification could halt America’s financial greatness
A few weeks after he was confirmed as Treasury secretary last year, Scott Bessent delivered a message to the American Bankers Association that regulatory…
News Release
SEC seeks end to quarterly reporting mandate: CEI analysis
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed to end mandatory quarterly reporting for public companies and switch to semiannual reporting. “The SEC…
Comment
CEI comments on OCC’s proposed implementation of GENIUS Act stablecoin regulation
Dear Comptroller Gould:On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on OCC-2025-0372, the OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking…
Blog
HUD and CFPB help housing by restoring free speech
Thanks to the commendable actions of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), April has been…
Blog
Spirit Airlines shows mergers may prevent bankruptcies and bailouts
In 2024, Spirit Airlines, financially troubled since the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, sought a lifeline through a merger with JetBlue Airways. Although neither…
News Release
Fed Chair nominee Warsh has mixed signals in Senate hearing
Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve Chair in the Senate today prompted questions about future Fed policies. While his testimony had promising signals,…
Study
Questions for Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Warsh’s…
Blog
Let’s put the next SpaceX in our 401(k)s before its launch onto public markets
As Artemis II achieved liftoff for the first moon voyage in more than 50 years, space news also rocked the investment world with the…
News Release
SEC to seek end to quarterly reporting mandate: CEI analysis
The Securities and Exchange Commission will propose to end mandatory quarterly reporting for public companies, and give companies the option to file semi-annually instead,…
Blog
The Senate housing bill’s road to socialism
In the last week of February, I expressed hope that members of Congress would “embrace free-market proposals to advance opportunities in the housing…
Blog
Politicians should push deregulatory initiatives – not investor limits – to boost housing affordability
Both President Trump and Democrats in Congress seem to blame the high costs of housing on certain groups of real estate investors and to…
The Washington Examiner
Credit card companies are easy to vilify, but the wrong target for consumer ire
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on financial policy. John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said entrepreneurs turned…
News Release
Federal regulator fights state regulation of prediction markets – a gain for ordinary entrepreneurs and investors
Today, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Mike Selig announced actions to attempt to block state regulation of prediction markets that offer contracts on sports and…
Blog
George and Sam: A friendship forged in freedom and entrepreneurship
In August 1783, after General George Washington had secured victory in the Revolutionary War but was still awaiting negotiation of Great Britain’s surrender, he…
News Release
Housing bill aids affordability through deregulation
Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by 390-9 the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act. CEI scholars highlight the bill’s…
News Release
Trump’s pick for Fed chair spurs doubt on key issues
President Trump has decided on a nominee for the next Federal Reserve chair – Kevin Warsh, financier, bank executive, and former Federal Reserve Board…
Blog
Durbin-Marshall’s new provisions enable lawfare from state AGs
Even though President Trump unfortunately endorsed earlier this month the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) – a bill that attempts to force down fees…
Newsweek
What Trump’s Housing Executive Order Means for Mortgages
Newsweek cited CEI’s expert on mortgage costs However, John Berlau, financial policy director at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, called Trump’s proposal “misguided” and…
The Washington Post
Trump has lurched to the populist Left with recent economic proposals
The Washington Post cited CEI’s expert on financial policy “It won’t get to the root of the government-induced housing shortage, it will…
Washington Examiner
Trump plan to bar institutional investors from homebuying faces free-market skepticism
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on housing shortage. “It won’t get to the root of the government-induced housing shortage, it will make…
News Release
Trump ban on institutional investors will harm housing affordability
President Trump today called for a government ban on “large institutional investors” purchasing single-family homes. While the ban may be aimed at making…
Blog
Possible Fed pick Warsh has government-backed crypto problem
Kevin Warsh, financial executive and former Federal Reserve governor, is now reportedly among the top contenders being considered to replace Jerome Powell as Fed…
News Release
Rescheduling marijuana to a less restrictive category will benefit liberty and public health
President Trump signed an executive order today intended to fast track the rescheduling of cannabis from a Schedule I substance, the same as…
Blog
Government shouldn’t engage in debanking or forced banking
December is turning into a month in which Congress and Trump administration financial regulators are attempting to tackle debanking – the closure of accounts…
Letters
CEI Joins Center for Freedom and Prosperity to Highlight Urgent Need for Reform at the SEC
Dear President Trump: We are writing to highlight an important issue that directly impacts your administration’s efforts to democratize access to the alternative…
Blog
CEI warns House committee of dangers of deposit insurance hike
Starting with our late founder and president Fred Smith, CEI has long warned of the risks posed by government-provided deposit insurance to the nation’s…
Comment
The Future of Deposit Insurance: Assessing Coverage Levels, Systemic Costs, and Depositor Confidence
Hearing Entitled: The Future of Deposit Insurance: Exploring the Coverage, Costs, and Depositor Confidence Dear Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters, On…
News Release
Visa and Mastercard settlement with US merchants will cause confusion for consumers and harm community banks
Visa and Mastercard have reached a settlement in their 20-year-long legal battle with US merchants. The settlement gives merchants the ability to reject reward-based…
News Release
CFPB budget woes underscore fundamental problems with bureau’s set up
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may run out of money soon, according to news reports. The bureau has been controversial from the start…
Comment
Comments urging withdrawal of Chopra CFPB open banking mandate
Dear Acting Director Vought: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on RIN 3170-AB39, CFPB’s reconsideration…
Letters
CEI joins coalition Letter against caps on stablecoin rewards
RE: Coalition in Support of Preserving Consumer Rewards and Competition in Digital Asset Legislation Dear Chairmen Scott and Boozman, Ranking Members Warren and…
Blog
Katie Porter’s exchange with CFPB’s Kraninger revisited amid new revelations
A recently surfaced clip of former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has sparked a firestorm online. In a newly revealed 2021 video revealed published…
The Daily Signal
Is a Leftist-Created Corner of the Bureaucracy Defying the Government Shutdown?
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on the CFPB Despite limits, with Vought at the helm, the CFPB has been headed in a…
Letters
CEI joins a coalition in Protecting Consumer Data: Why the CFPB Must Abandon Biden’s Flawed Open Banking Rule
Dear Acting Director Vought: We commend the bureau for acknowledging the flaws in the Personal Financial Data Rights rule promulgated under the Biden…
Blog
Trump 401(k) EO helps equalize access to alternative assets
For more than a decade at CEI, I have argued that holders of 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans should have maximum choice in the…
News Release
Trump’s call to end corporate quarterly reporting mandates would boost competitiveness, end onerous regulation
President Trump today used a social media post to call on the SEC to end quarterly reporting mandates for publicly traded companies and instead…
Blog
Trump’s Intel stake and the Peronist precedent of Obama’s auto bailouts
President Trump’s decision to take a 10-percent ownership stake in chipmaker Intel has been described by many commentators as “socialism.” Others…
Letters
CEI joins coalition with TPA in Opposition to Increasing FDIC Deposit Insurance Limits
Dear Chairs Scott and Hill, and Ranking Members Warren and Waters, We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers nationwide, write…
Blog
Trump EO on debanking is a mixed bag for financial freedom
President Trump’s new Executive Order (EO) on debanking correctly decries the weaponization of the financial regulation, and contains many good provisions preventing government…
Forbes
Trump Must End Dodd-Frank’s Backdoor Tariffs Blocking Critical Minerals & Impoverishing Congo
RealClear Markets
Michelle Bowman’s Reforms Will Help Reverse Dodd-Frank Damage
America’s community banks are disappearing and forming more infrequently. These local lenders once dotted every city and small town, offering small business loans, farm…
Blog
Predicting a brighter regulatory future for prediction markets
CEI scholars have many skills, but predicting the future is not one of them. However, when it comes to prediction markets, based on recent…