CEI has fought excessive regulation in the financial sector from laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank. We have scored major bipartisan victories for deregulation. These include the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, signed by President Obama in 2012, that lifted or relaxed some of the biggest burdens preventing small and midsize firms from raising capital and going public; and the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, signed by President Trump in 2018, that lifted some of Dodd-Frank’s crushing burden on community banks and credit unions. We continue to fight to remove regulatory barriers that limit choices and increase costs for entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers.
Banking and Finance Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
How SAFER Banking Act poses new dangers to marijuana and other legal industries
Marijuana has been in the news lately, and the news seems to be overwhelmingly favorable to the industry in terms of reducing uncertainty as to…
Blog
Fed flirts with stimulus
As expected, the Federal Reserve signaled its commitment to fighting inflation by holding interest rates steady at this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. It…
Blog
Weak GDP is first stress test for inflation fighters
I have been saying for a while that inflation expectations will remain high until policymakers prove they can restrain their stimulus spending during an economic…
Search Posts
Blog
How SAFER Banking Act poses new dangers to marijuana and other legal industries
Marijuana has been in the news lately, and the news seems to be overwhelmingly favorable to the industry in terms of reducing uncertainty as to…
Blog
Fed flirts with stimulus
As expected, the Federal Reserve signaled its commitment to fighting inflation by holding interest rates steady at this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. It…
Blog
Weak GDP is first stress test for inflation fighters
I have been saying for a while that inflation expectations will remain high until policymakers prove they can restrain their stimulus spending during an economic…
News Release
CEI praises measure to overturn CFPB’s destructive price controls on credit card late fees
On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee is expected to approve a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) to overturn…
American Institute for Economic Research
Biden Redoubles Effort to Crush Crypto With EIA’s Mining Survey
The Biden administration has launched yet another attack against the cryptocurrency industry–an environmental impact “survey” to bolster a politically motivated attack on the crypto mining…
Reason
Inflation Is So Back
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited on Reason about rising inflation: “If the Federal Reserve was thinking of cutting interest rates at its next meeting…
News Release
Inflation still too high to lower interest rates: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for March again read 0.4 percent, though the 12-month rate is now up to 3.5 percent. CEI senior economist…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Trademark fees and threatened sloths
A cargo ship struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman died at age 90.
The National Desk
Federal Reserve keeps waiting for more data before cutting interest rates
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited on The National Desk about Federal Reserve interest rates: “The Fed has done just about all that it can…
News Release
Fed ignores congressional pressure and keeps interest rates steady: CEI analysis
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it will keep interest rates steady in a continued effort to fight off inflation. CEI senior economist…
National Review
Critics of Capital One–Discover Merger Are Missing the Elephants
Blog
Classifying regulations is now more confusing thanks to Biden administration
Joe Biden’s Modernizing Regulatory Review executive order (E.O. 14094) raised the threshold for a “significant regulatory action” from $100 million to $200 million in…
Politico
Bank exec crackdown fades post-SVB
CEI’s John Berlau is cited in Politico regarding the exec crackdown’s subsiding: The free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute led a letter to Congress in February urging members…
News Release
Inflation numbers more nuanced than they seem: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index numbers released today for February 2024 shows inflation increased to 0.4 percent, up from 0.3 percent in January. CEI senior…
Blog
February inflation stays high, fiscal credibility remains a problem
Headline CPI inflation numbers sped up in February. Monthly inflation increased 0.3 percent in January, and 0.4 percent in February. Year-to-year inflation is 3.2…
Blog
One great moment in the budget battles: GOP’s ‘Policy Statement on Deregulation’
Today marks the release of the White House’s $7.3 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, even as policymakers continue their wrangling over the…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Supporting H.R. 2799
Dear Representative: We, the undersigned organizations, write to you today to express our support for Representative Patrick McHenry’s H.R. 2799, the Expanding Access to Capital…
News Release
CFPB Price Controls on Late Fees Mean Less Credit, Higher Costs for Cardholders
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule on credit card late fees that would do far more harm than good, according…
Blog
Where do regulations go when Congress shutters an agency?
The way the federal government spends money rarely changes until a crisis comes along. Arguably, we’re already there with federal debt service (interest) payments…
News Release
Economy in a healthy spot for further growth: CEI analysis
Today’s GDP numbers for the fourth quarter of 2023 showed economic growth stood at 3.2 percent, a slight downward trend compared to the third…
DC Journal
Economists, Free Market Groups Urge Congress to Reject RECOUP Act
CEI’s John Berlau is cited in DC Journal on outside groups to reject the RECOUP Act: That’s the concern of John Berlau with the Competitive…
News Release
Coalition Warns Against RECOUP Act that Gives Vast Powers to Banking Regulators
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Americans for Tax Reform today led a coalition letter to congressional leaders opposing the RECOUP Act. CEI’s John Berlau explains…
Letters
CEI Leads Letter Rejecting Recoup Act
Dear Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Schumer, and Minority Leader McConnell: As leaders of policy groups concerned with constitutional liberties, government accountability, and…
Blog
Worried about massive federal debt? Time to right-size the regulators
In the annals of federal bloat, a milestone is looming as noted in another post last week: 2024 interest payments on America’s $34 trillion…
Washington Examiner
Capital One merger could make Discover a rival to the largest credit cards in payments
CEI’s John Berlau is cited in the Washington Examiner on the credit-card merger: “Discover is currently in fourth place in card network size, far behind…
Fox Business
How Capital One’s acquisition of Discover could impact consumers
CEI’s John Berlau is cited in Fox Business on the acquisition: John Berlau, director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), said in…
News Release
Capital One/Discover Merger Not a Threat to Competition, Overregulation Is
The proposed merger between Capital One and Discover is not a threat to competition in the credit market, but there is one big looming threat…
News Release
January’s inflationary numbers higher than most realize: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index numbers for January reportedly rose 0.3 percent compared to the month before, but CEI’s senior economist Ryan Young explains why…
Washington Examiner
White House pushes ‘shrinkflation’ messaging to assign blame to corporations
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited on the Washington Examiner: “Shrinkflation is real, but it’s not a partisan issue. Shrinkflation is part of the great COVID…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Horseracing and postal products
The Supreme Court heard a case about whether Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding public office under the Fourteenth Amendment. A lawyer’s memo called…
News Release
Interest rates to hold steady for now: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its most recent meeting, as expected. The speculation is now about when it will begin cutting…
Blog
The full Scope of problems with the SEC’s climate disclosure rule
I have a paper out today, examining the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed rule on mandatory climate disclosures. The SEC’s rule seeks…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Burning trash and methane emissions
GDP grew at a healthy 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Regulators blocked an airline merger, and a carbon tariff moved…
Blog
CFPB Data Breach Shows Danger of its Attempted Power Grab Over Fintech
My friend Patrick Brenner, president of regional free-market think tank the Southwest Public Policy Institute, recently had a great op-ed at FoxNews.com on data…
News Release
Strong Growth Report Will Allow Federal Reserve to Stay the Course on Fighting Inflation
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report today showing the U.S. economy grew by 2.5 percent in 2023. Gross domestic…
Blog
The Natural Asset Hydra
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) recently proposed a radical rule to amend its manual for listing public companies to include a new form…
North State Journal
NC attorney general wants cash apps regulated by CFPB
CEI’s John Berlau is cited on the North State Journal on CFPB regulations in North Carolina: John Berlau, senior fellow and Director of Finance…
Blog
The threat to sound economics isn’t over
This week, the New York Stock Exchange withdrew its proposal to create a new designation for public companies called Natural Asset Companies, or NACs.
News Release
CEI Scholar Selected for Hoover Institution Initiative on Policies Impacting Small Business
CEI is delighted that the renowned Hoover Institution has chosen CEI Senior Fellow James Broughel as a Visiting Fellow for its Small Business Regulation program.
Comment
CEI comments on SEC’s proposed adoption of NYSE listing standards for “Natural Asset Companies”
TO: Securities and Exchange Commission FROM: Stone Allen Washington; Research Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute RE: No. SR-NYSE-2023-09 To the Honorable Gary Gensler,…
Letters
Coalition Letter on American Consumer Institute – Risk Transfer
Chief Counsel’s Office Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E–218 Washington, DC 20219 Ann E. Misback…
News Release
CFPB Overdraft Proposal Would Harm Consumers
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – as part of the Biden administration’s whole-of-government crusade against “junk fees” – unveiled a proposed rule that…
Comment
CEI Comments on SEC Proposed Rule Change to Amend the NYSE Listed Company Manual
January 17, 2024 Docket ID: Release Nos. 34-99225, File No. SR-NYSE-2023-09 Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Order Instituting Proceedings to Determine Whether…
News Release
More to inflation story than meets the eye: CEI analysis
According to the Consumer Price Index, December saw inflation rise to 3.4 percent, up 0.3 percent from the month prior. Despite this, inflation numbers…
Blog
Congress could revoke many costly Biden admin rules with Congressional Review Act. Here’s a list!
Until April of 2023, a federal rule costing $100 million was considered “economically significant.” Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) raised that…
Blog
Don’t make crypto the electricity scapegoat
A radical new tax proposed by the Biden administration would make cryptocurrency mining the scapegoat for electricity usage. The so-called Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME)…
Study
Don’t Depower Crypto
Introduction In President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget blueprint,1 the president proposed a new tax aimed at the electricity use caused by cryptocurrency mining. Known…
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…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Auto dealers and automated tariffs
The first week of the new year’s regulations is in the books. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from junk fees to cable tv competition. On…
Daily Caller
Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Dreams Are A Nightmare For Average Americans, Experts Say
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in the Daily Caller on student loan cancellation: “Parents are already willing to save and sacrifice in order to afford…
Blog
Unconstitutionality Index going into 2024: 46 rules for every law
The Biden’s administration’s 3,018 rules and regulations of 2023 is fairly typical of agency output these days. But while rule counts remain relatively stable,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: 2023 year-end special
The tentative final numbers for new regulations for 2023 are in: The final four-day week of 2023 was relatively slow: 60 final regulations, 34 proposed…
Blog
Federal Register 2023 gives Congress 90,402 reasons to restrain the regulators
As we bid farewell to 2023 and ring in 2024, the Federal Register reveals a noteworthy chapter in regulatory history under the Joe Biden administration.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Avoiding a Central Bank Digital Currency with Nicholas Anthony
In this week’s episode we cover the legislative record of House of Representatives in 2023, the proliferation of conferences about ESG investing,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Oxides of nitrogen and approaching of whales
Congress has adjourned until January, so the Republic is safe until then. The Fourteenth Amendment suddenly became a factor in the presidential race. Meanwhile,…
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…
The Dispatch
Why ‘Dollarize’?
The newly inaugurated president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is variously described as a radical libertarian, a right-wing populist, and an ultraconservative. Rather than try to…
Blog
Obscuring the SEC’s climate disclosure rule may invite a host of legal problems
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) pending climate disclosure rule has been delayed yet again. The climate disclosure rule will require publicly traded companies to quantify…
Blog
Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next year?
As expected, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate the same this week, which influences other interest rates, including car and mortgage payments. The…
Blog
Inflation holds steady, Fed interest rates likely to stay put
The Consumer Price Index went up 0.1 percent in the month of November. Its 12-month increase is 3.1 percent, same as last month’s report.
Blog
Federal government waves goodbye to ‘economically significant’ regulations
Last week, the Fall 2023 edition of the White House’s Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions appeared. It features the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Address labels and exporting missiles
The FDA approved the world’s first gene-editing therapy, which could cure sickle cell disease. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent. Meanwhile, agencies issued…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Au pairs and processed pears
The 2023 edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments is out now. Henry Kissinger died at age 100. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
Inflation makes regulations even more expensive
The just-released 2023 edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments report estimates that the total cost of complying with all federal regulations is $1.94…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments 2023 is out now
The 2023 edition of CEI’s flagship annual study, Wayne Crews’s Ten Thousand Commandments, is out now. For those not familiar, 10KC gives a big-picture…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Slender salamanders and joint employers
Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary cease-fire. OpenAI’s board of directors fired CEO Sam Altman, then re-hired him and fired themselves. President Joe Biden…
Blog
Slice the regulatory turkey this Thanksgiving
The turkeys Liberty and Bell just received a Thanksgiving pardon from Joe Biden. The official presentation of a turkey for a presidential pardon and rescue…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: California raisins and debit card fees
There was a pro-Israel and anti-Hamas rally on the National Mall of more than 200,000 people. A fight nearly broke out at a Senate hearing.
Discourse Magazine
What America’s Recent Bank Failures Tell Us About ESG Phasing
Financial institutions that radically phase out fossil fuel and other politically scorned investments pose a serious risk to their own business, to investors and ultimately…
News Release
Good News on Inflation during October, but It’s Still Too High: CEI Analysis
The consumer price index did not increase from September to October, according to newly released government numbers. But because core CPI is still higher…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Junk fees and dehumidifiers
It was a four-day week due to Veterans Day. Another government shutdown deadline is less than a week away. The FTC issued a proposed rule…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Personal finance and YouTube with Spencer Johnson
In this week’s episode we cover how states can reform higher education, ways that managers can make their employees happier at work,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Gas cans and shorts reporting
President Biden issued an Executive Order on AI regulation. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Jobs growth slowed, but still grew.
Blog
Is the Fed done with interest rate hikes?
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee held the federal funds rate steady this week at its most recent meeting, as expected. It will range…
DC Journal
Senate Credit Card Bills Will Cost Working Class Consumers
Senators from both sides of the aisle claim they are taking on big banks to help the working class by regulating credit cards. Sen. Josh…
Blog
SEC commissioner bashes private markets, shows why public capital flight is happening
Caroline Crenshaw, a designated Democratic commissioner with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently was sharply critical of private markets. “Investor protection and systemic risk…
News Release
Biden’s Junky Retirement Rule Would Raise Fees & Take Away Choices for American Savers
President Biden today announced the details of a new rule governing retirement savings, echoing an earlier “fiduciary rule” issued by the Obama administration that was…
News Release
Big Economic Growth for Third Quarter of 2023, Taming Inflation Didn’t Cause Recession: CEI Analysis
CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young pointed to new data on the economy’s impressive growth in the third quarter of 2023 as evidence that the…
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…
News Release
Inflation still too high as of September: CEI analysis
The federal government today released an update on inflation for the month of September, a rise of 0.4 percent in September compared to a 0.6…
Blog
The SEC’s misguided attempt to regulate AI
My colleague John Berlau and I submitted a comment letter this week to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), arguing its proposed regulations on…
Econlib
Seeking an Explanation for the Stagnation
This is the second of two posts I am writing in reaction to Adam Martin, who wrote two responses to my essay about ways in which …
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…
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…
Blog
Congress can say no to Bidenomics in shutdown showdown
The contentious fiscal year 2024 budget battle, which might result in a partial federal government shutdown, is unfurling precisely as the national debt is…
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…
Blog
August CPI: Rising energy prices hide underlying inflation progress
This month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a jumble of numbers that look like they contradict each other. But they make sense on closer…
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…
Blog
The SEC’s anti-competitive assault against private fund advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting new rules that radically redefine how investment companies are regulated, undercutting the ability of private fund advisers to…
Citation
AUDIO: Ryan Young Joins the Bob Harden Show
Senior Economist Ryan Young joined the Bob Harden Show to discuss the current state of our economy: Ryan-Young-September-1Download…
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…
CBS Austin
Investors, economists hope to gain hints for what’s next as Federal Reserve meets
CBS Austin cites Senior Fellow Ryan Young on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s speech: “Everyone’s gonna be interested in ‘what’s the Fed going to do…
Blog
‘Economically significant’ regulations: an obituary
I never thought I’d miss “economically significant” rules and regulations. But Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14094 (“Modernizing Regulatory Review”) has redefined “Significant regulatory action.”…
Blog
How regulations crush small businesses and the poor
Today, the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship is holding a field hearing in Iowa on the topic of “One Size Does Not…
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…
Blog
Inflation Reduction Act turns one, and wow that’s an ugly baby
As President Joe Biden celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (here’s the White House “Fact Sheet“) we…
News Release
Falling energy prices mask inflation, despite official numbers showing little change from June to July: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index ticked up slightly from June to July, but CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young explains why the true inflation problem was…