News Release
Report: Energy Tax Targeting Crypto Industry – Bad Idea for a New Year
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report investigates whether the energy usage of certain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin merits a targeted electricity tax on the industry…
The Hill
Don’t hand a blank check to a troubled FDIC
When shocking reports surfaced recently of discrimination, harassment and a toxic workplace culture at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, members of both parties…
Blog
FTC replies to CEI in auto dealer rule, still full of hot, nitrogen-poor air
This week, the Federal Trade Commission issued its long-awaited, nearly-400 page nannyist final rule on auto and other motor vehicle dealers sales. The rule…
Blog
Central banks are watching. Let’s watch them back.
One of the biggest dangers of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), I and others have warned, is that it would give a government that…
Blog
Gensler SEC’s PDA rule would keep investors in the dark
Hailing one of his new mandates on entrepreneurs and investors, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler proclaimed, “In today’s fast-moving financial markets, it’s important that market…
Fox Business
Biden called upon by pro-growth groups to withdraw CFPB’s late fees rule
CEI’s John Berlau is cited by Fox Business outlining the CFPB’s late fees rule: John Berlau, senior fellow and director of finance policy at…
Comment
Conflicts of Interest Associated with the Use of Predictive Data Analytics by Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
October 10, 2023 Docket ID: Release Nos. 34-97990, IA-6353, File No. S7-12-23 To the Honorable Gary Gensler, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and…
News Release
A Supreme Court ruling against CFPB would benefit consumers: CEI analysis
Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in CFPB v. CFSA, in which the Court will decide if the CFPB’s funding structure, which bypasses…
Washington Examiner
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried trial to start Tuesday in NYC
CEI’s John Berelau is cited by Washington Examiner on the FTX Trial: John Berlau, a senior fellow and director of finance policy at the Competitive…
Blog
Bill banning Fed-controlled crypto a good first step, but Congress must do more for monetary freedom
On Wednesday, the US House Financial Services Committee is expected to vote on House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s ‘‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act,” aiming to prevent…
Based Politics
GOP Senator Josh Hawley channels his inner AOC with new nanny-state credit card proposal
Forbes
How Durbin & Co. Credit And Debit Card Controls Could Pave The Way For CBDCs
Central Bank Digital Currency – the digital form of a national currency that tracks transactions within a government digital ledger – is an idea that…
DC Journal
Gensler ‘Choke Point’ Strategy on Crypto Suffers Legal Setbacks
CEI’s John Berlau is cited on DC Journal discussing crypto choke points: “There just seems to be a war on crypto if you look at…
News Release
Grayscale Decision Curtails “Arbitrary and Capricious” SEC and Enhances Investor Options
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled in Grayscale Investments v. SEC that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s denial…
Crowdfund Insider
Competitive Enterprise Institute Financial Services Expert Comments on Bitcoin ETF Ruling: The SEC Should Heed the Words of the Court
CI received a comment from John Berlau, a Director of Finance Policy and Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) who said the…
Blog
America’s insurance commissioners still pursuing bad investment charges that EU is scrapping
Last month, a significant development took place in Europe that so far has not been widely reported in the US, even though it will likely…
Real Clear Markets
The Global Rejection of CBDC
The Biden Administration and the Federal Reserve are taking steps toward the potential roll-out of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In attempting to do…
Blog
Why are America’s insurance commissioners trying to import harmful European rules?
With high prices and the threat of recession looming over America’s economy, another threat is emerging. Influential policymakers overseeing the U.S. insurance industry are on…
Washington Examiner
Cryptocurrency back in spotlight in legislative push from Congress
John Berlau, a senior fellow and director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner that Congress should tread lightly in granting more…
News Release
Court Ruling on Ripple Cryptocurrency Case Curbs SEC Powers
A federal court has weighed in on whether a prominent cryptocurrency can be regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a security…
Blog
Adam Smith, George Washington, and the invisible hand in America
Although Adam Smith would have been 300 this year, his birth date is unknown, and his baptism date has shifted from different dates in June…
Forbes
Will NAIC Insurance Regulators In U.S. Import Harmful European Rules?
My colleague Ari Patinkin, research associate at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, contributed to this post. Although the inflation rate may be slowing, the American economy…
Fox Business
Banking industry pushes back on CFPB’s warning over use of AI chatbots
Fox Business quotes CEI’s John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent advisory: John Berlau, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s director…
Fox News
Banking industry pushes back on CFPB’s warning over use of AI chatbots
Fox News quotes CEI’s John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent advisory regarding artificial intelligence in customer service:…
News Release
SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Threatens All U.S. Entrepreneurs
John Berlau, CEI Director of Finance Policy, today criticized the SEC for its ill-founded lawsuit targeting Coinbase: “The Securities and Exchange…
Blog
SPPI-TV hit: How price controls endanger small dollar loans, boost loan sharks
In my first media appearance from the sleek new CEI studios at our offices in Washington, DC, I joined a great panel on the May…
Blog
New credit card late fee rule hurts folks who pay their bills on time
There has rightly been an outcry after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which sets policy for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie…
Comment
CEI leads comments on CFPB’s $8 price controls on credit card late fees
In the matter of the proposed rule“Credit Card Penalty Fees (Regulation Z)”Consumer Financial Protection BureauDocket No. CFPB–2023–0010; RIN 3170–AB15 Prepared by: John BerlauDirector of Finance…
News Release
Congress Must Examine First Republic’s Woke Financing and Risk Management Regulation
Regulators today seized the failed First Republic bank and sold its operations to JPMorgan Chase. CEI financial policy expert John Berlau reiterated the need for…
Letters
CEI Co-Leads Coalition Letter Calling For External Audit of Fed on Bank Failures
As the Federal Reserve (Fed) readies its internal review of its actions leading up to the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, we the undersigned organizations…
Wall Street Journal
CFPB Tries to Censor Speech on Chicago Crime
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal bureaucracy with a vast jurisdiction, is testing a novel approach to crime and punishment. In a lawsuit against…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling Ensures People Can Challenge Agency Authority in Court
The Supreme Court ruled today that regulatory agency tribunals do not have any special expertise in deciding constitutional law questions; therefore, district courts can hear…
Blog
FedNow Isn’t a CBDC, But Still Contains Many Dangers
Over the past few days, “FedNow” has been trending on Twitter in tweets that contain healthy doses of curiosity and skepticism, well-founded concerns about privacy…
Blog
Finance Facts Trump Biden’s Blame Game on Banking Woes
Donald Trump dominated the news in more ways than one yesterday, as Biden officials attempted to place the Trump administration at the center of recent…
Blog
The Many Harms of Unlimited Deposit Insurance
Unlimited deposit insurance – the government guaranteeing that bank accounts of any size be made whole-in the event of a bank failure – would create…
Blog
The Risks of Bailing Out Silicon Valley Bank’s Uninsured Depositors and How to Make the Banking System Resilient
On Sunday evening, the Biden administration decided that all customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank will have their millions and possibly billions in the…
News Release
Congress Shouldn’t Compound Silicon Valley Bank Collapse with Bailouts and Bad Ideas
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has spurred some terrible policymaking ideas in Congress, exacerbating bad decisions by the bank that has led to its collapse.
Bloomberg
Biden Vows to Hold Banks Accountable, Urges Stronger Rules (2)
John Berlau, director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said “prudent banks suffering the fallout from SVB should not…
News Release
Supreme Court Rightly to Review CFPB Funding Constitutionality
The Supreme Court today announced it will review the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding, an unusual arrangement of unchecked funding from…
Blog
Fed Economist: Study Shows Danger of Government-Mandated Financial Misinformation
Study from Fed Economist Shows Danger of Government-Mandated Financial Misinformation The “Twitter Files” have made some shocking revelations about government entities…
Blog
Study from Fed Economist Shows Danger of Government-Mandated Financial Misinformation
The “Twitter Files” have made some shocking revelations about government entities muscling social media companies to deplatform people in the name of preventing so-called…
Blog
Hearing Shows Bipartisan Momentum for Focused Financial Deregulation
Last week, I had the honor and pleasure of testifying at the first hearing of the newly constituted Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy subcommittee…
Testimony
CEI’s John Berlau Testifies Before House Financial Services Committee: Hearing: “Revamping and Revitalizing Banking in the 21st Century”
Chairman Barr, Ranking Member Foster, and honorable members of this Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to present testimony on behalf of my organization,…
Crowd Fund Insider
House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Schedules Hearing to Discuss Banking and Need to Update Regulations in Line with Emerging Technology
CEI’s John Berlau is cited on Crowd Fund Insider on banking regulations: The House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, part of the Financial Services…
News Release
CFPB Cap on Credit Card Late Fees = Price Controls that Raise Cost of Credit for Everyone
The Biden White House is touting a new proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would cap most credit card late fees…
Blog
Berlau Crypto Letter and Comments in Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner
This week, I have had the honor of being quoted in a great article on cryptocurrency trends and regulation in the Washington Examiner and having…
Forbes
Fed Economist’s Study Shows Harm Of Government-Spread Misinformation On Small Loans
The “Twitter Files” have made some shocking revelations about government entities muscling social media companies to de-platform people in the name…
Blog
The Deregulatory Pony for Small Biz Buried in the Omnibus Pile
There’s not much good to say about an “omnibus” bill crammed in at the end-of-year lame duck session of Congress that contains a grab bag…
Wall Street Journal
The Meaning of the Bankman-Fried Indictment
The Wall Street Journal cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on the Sarbanes-Oxley law: “Earlier this year John Berlau and Josh Rutzick wrote in the Journal on the…
Blog
FTX Hearings Should Probe Fraud Charges and the SEC’s Misplaced Priorities
In the wake of the arrest of and charges of fraud against Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder and former CEO of the FTX…