Blog
Securities and Exchange Commission Bests Labor Department ‘Fiduciary Rule,’ But Still Adds Red Tape
In March, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals killed the Obama administration’s “fiduciary rule,” a prime example of the “bureaucrats know best” type of…
Blog
Federal Charters May Remove Interest Rate Uncertainty for Fintech Firms
The July 31 policy statement by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announcing that it will now grant “special purpose national…
Blog
In U.S. and Australia, Payment Card Price Controls Create Many Unhappy Returns
Eight years ago this month, the Democrat-controlled House and Senate passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the so-called Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and…
News Release
House Bipartisan JOBS Act 3.0 Act Will Cut Red Tape for Investors, Small Companies
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will likely pass by a substantial margin a legislative package — backed by both House Financial Services Committee Chairman…
Blog
Trump Reorg Plan One Step Forward, Two Steps Back on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
My colleagues Trey Kovacs and Iain Murray and, in Forbes, Wayne Crews, give mixed reviews to President Trump’s long-awaited executive branch reorganization…
The Washington Examiner
Judge Protects Us from ‘Protection’ Bureau
As the Senate prepares for what should be a contentious confirmation hearing for President Trump’s nominee to head the powerful Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection…
Washington Examiner
Judge protects us from ‘protection’ bureau
As the Senate prepares for what should be a contentious confirmation hearing for President Trump’s nominee to head the powerful Bureau of Consumer Financial…
News Release
CEI Urges Senate To Press CFPB Nominee on Stopping Regulatory Abuse
Over the past weekend, President Trump nominated Kathy Kraninger, an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, to head the Bureau of Consumer…
Blog
Last Chance for the 115th: Unshackle Middle-Class Investors and Entrepreneurs
Congress and President Trump recently gave Main Street banks and credit unions some much-need but still modest relief from the mountains of red tape stemming…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Volcker Rule Rollback Will Help Entrepreneurs, Investors
The Federal Reserve Board is expected today to start rolling back the Volcker Rule, a controversial Dodd-Frank provision that prohibits federally insured commercial banks from…
The New York Times
Congress Approves First Big Dodd-Frank Rollback
The New York Times cited CEI’s John Berlau on the limitations of current deregulatory reforms in disassembling the Dodd-Frank Act, which burdens consumers, investors, and…
Reason
Congress Just Voted to Repeal a Few Bits of Dodd-Frank
Reason cited John Berlau on the boon to small banks in being able to provide financial relief to Americans that is occuring with deregulation of…
News Release
CEI Commends House Passage of Modest Banking Reforms, Urges Congress to Go Further
Today, the House considered and passed The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act aimed at scaling back a few bad Dodd-Frank bank regulations. CEI Senior Fellow…
Blog
Cut Red Tape So Middle-Class Investors Can Soar with Next Amazon
Today is the 21st anniversary of the initial public offering of a little company called Amazon. Yes, today Amazon is a behemoth, a supposed…
Blog
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Targets True Rights Violations with Wells Fargo Fine
After being attacked repeatedly for supposedly being soft on Wall Street and the “big banks,” Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney was part…
News Release
CFPB $1 Billion Fine Against Wells Fargo Shows Regulator Power in Trump Era
On news today that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) will impose a combined fine of $1…
News Release
Senate Votes Down Unfair CFPB Auto Lending Rule
CEI praised the Senate today for voting down the Obama-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that unfairly penalized auto lenders for any unintentional disparate impact…
News Release
SEC to Propose Investor Fiduciary Rule
In the wake of a court ruling against a controversial Obama-era Labor Department rule expanding liability for investment advice, the Securities and Exchange Commission today…
Marketplace Radio
AUDIO: John Berlau Discusses Accountability at the CFPB with American Public Media’s Marketplace
John Berlau, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, joined American Public Media’s Marketplace, to discuss how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be…
The Wall Street Journal
Cryptocurrency: Does Fed Want to Imitate Venezuela?
John Berlau writes a letter-to-the-editor to The Wall Street Journal about the dangers of the U.S. government issuing its own digital currency. After Kevin Warsh…
Forbes
Let’s Keep Cryptocurrency Mines Running in Human Achievement Hour & Every Hour
On Saturday, March 24th, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM in their local time zones, some people will turn off their lights as part of an…
Sacramento Bee
Kudlow’s Skills will Keep US Economy Rolling in Fast Lane
Just as baseball season approaches, President Donald Trump hits it out of the park with his appointment of economist Larry Kudlow to head the White…
News Release
Court Rules Against Obama Fiduciary Rule in a Victory for Middle Class Investors
On news that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals late Thursday struck down the Obama Labor Department's controversial fiduciary rule, Competitive Enterprise Institute financial policy…
News Release
CEI Commends Senate for Passing Bipartisan Dodd-Frank Reform Bill
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) commends the U.S. Senate on passage of Sen. Crapo's S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.
News Release
CEI Commends Trump’s Choice of Larry Kudlow for Top Economic Post
President Trump is expected to name Larry Kudlow as director of the National Economic Council this week. CEI experts commend Trump for selecting an adviser with…
Newsmax
Mulvaney Must End CFPB’s Big Brother Role
Just after Thanksgiving, when the drama of the dueling directors began at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), I told The Washington Examiner that the new…
News Release
Sen. Crapo’s Dodd-Frank Reform Bill: Important, Commonsense Step Toward Relief for Small Banks
This week, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on Senator Mike Crapo’s bipartisan Dodd-Frank reform bill, “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act”…
Blog
Implement AEI-Heritage-R Street GSE Plan AND Honor Shareholder Contracts
It is welcome news that our friends from the American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, and the R Street Institute put forth a plan this week…
The Washington Examiner
CFPB’s ‘NSA-like’ surveillance in limbo with leadership tussle
The Washington Examiner quoted John Berlau in the need for regulatory reform and the need to eliminate the cache of consumer data which the CFPB…
Newsmax
Understand Innovative ‘Blockchain’ Before Condemning It
Since 2018 began, the prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had been tumbling, in large part due to real or perceived threats of crackdowns from…
Valuewalk
Time To End The GSE Conservatorship
When other financial institutions that received TARP funds paid back what they owed to the U.S. Treasury in full, the government relinquished its ownership stake…
News Release
House to Vote on Plan to Cut Red Tape for Small, Fast-Growing Companies
The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a plan to help small companies with big ambitions. The Fostering Innovation Act of 2017 (H.R. 1645)…
News Release
Trump Budget Seeks More Accountability for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
President Trump’s 2019 budget plan, released today, has some big changes in mind for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), aiming to bring much-needed accountability and…
Blog
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton’s Comments on Cryptocurrencies Are Cause for Concern
Recent comments by SEC Chairman Jay Claytonmay signal an increasingly heavy-handed regulatory approach toward cryptocurrencies. Such an approach could curb innovation and prove counterproductive in fighting…
Newsmax
Stop Stealth Capital Gains Tax Hike in Senate Bill
It’s crunch time on tax reform. The House passed a bill just before Thanksgiving. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. A good tax reform bill would…
Newsmax
Dear President Trump, Please Fire CFPB’s Cordray — Now
On Oct. 30, 2017 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray released a letter to President Donald Trump in which Cordray urged the…
The American Spectator
Good Riddance to Finance Regulator Richard Cordray
Blog
Trump Should Boost Bipartisan Access-to-Capital Bill in SOTU
If President Trump really wants to strike a note of bipartisanship in his State of the Union address, as well as promote measures to build…
Bloomberg
Business Groups Attack ‘America First’ Merger Review Bill
Breitbart
Potential Nomination of McWatters to Head Up the CFPB Hits a Rough Patch
Breitbart discusses possible Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) nominee Mark McWatters with John Berlau. The potential nomination of National Credit Union Adminstration Chairman (NCUA)…
News Release
House Financial Reform Plans Show Lawmakers Recognize Problems Caused by CFPB
This week, the House Financial Services Committee approved 15 bills on regulatory relief for community financial institutions, investment opportunities, access to financing for home buyers,…
One America News
VIDEO: John Berlau Discusses CFPB Slush Fund on One America News
One America News discusses Mick Mulvaney’s attempts to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s slush fund with John Berlau. Watch the full…
Blog
End CFPB’s Collection of Americans’ Financial Data
Last week, when the drama of the dueling directors began at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), I told The Washington Examiner that the…
News Release
Report: Dodd-Frank Volcker Rule Punishes Main Street
Banking restrictions imposed by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law have caused big problems for banks nationwide, a new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Study
The Case against the Volcker Rule
View Full Document as PDF The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has severely restricted business and consumer access…
Blog
Senate Bill’s Stealth FIFO Capital Gains Hike Hinders Tax Reform
It’s crunch time on tax reform! The House passed a bill just before Thanksgiving. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. A good tax reform bill would…
The Washington Examiner
CFPB’s ‘NSA-Like’ Surveillance in Limbo with Leadership Tussle
The Washington Examiner discusses Mick Mulvaney’s appointment as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with John Berlau. The fight for control of…
Blog
Acting CFPB Director Mulvaney’s Bipartisan FinTech Work
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has long broken bread with folks he disagrees with to find common ground on policy.
Blog
Good Riddance to Finance Regulator Richard Cordray
The resignation of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray is long overdue.
News Release
CEI Urges Swift Action on CFPB Problems as Director Richard Cordray Resigns
The CFPB under Cordray’s tenure has failed consumers.