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
News Release
Supreme Court Disappoints on Funding/Powers Question in Ruling in CFPB Case
The Supreme Court today issued a disappointing ruling in CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association of America, a lawsuit challenging the unchecked funding of…
News Release
No surprises with April’s inflation report: CEI analysis
Inflation rose 0.3 percent in April compared to 0.4 percent in March. While this wasn’t a surprise for economists, the news indicates a tough…
Blog
Navigating the maze of federal regulations in 2024: What to know
In a bureaucratic whirlwind, the 2024 Federal Register is attaining new heights, topping 41,000 pages today. An unsettling new norm for the past few weeks…
Search Posts
Blog
Respect, Don’t Restrict, Retail Investors
Watching the wild gyrations of the stock market this week—and some of the reactions to it—brings to mind Ronald Reagan’s observations of the bureaucratic mindset…
News Release
CEI Praises Biden Decision Suspending ‘Fair Access’ Banking Rule
President Biden’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today announced that it was halting publication of a final banking rule, pending review. The late…
News Release
Senate Should Question Biden’s Choice to Head CFPB, Rohit Chopra, on Fair Process for Regulating Businesses
The Senate should question President-elect Biden’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau out of concern that businesses get fair treatment in the regulatory…
Forbes
Who Is Gary Gensler, Biden’s Pick To Run The SEC?
Forbes cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison on President Biden’s choice of Gary Gensler as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission: Richard Morrison,…
The Epoch Times
Biden Picks Warren Allies to Head Financial Sector Oversight Agencies, SEC, and CFPB
The Epoch Times cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison on Biden’s policy proposal for the SEC: Some conservatives have expressed reservation. Richard Morrison,…
The Washington Times
Trump Administration Finalizes ‘Fair Access’ Banking Rule
The Washington Times cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on the “Fair Access” banking rule: “The rule will lead to more, not less,…
Blog
Treasury, FHFA Reverse ‘Net Worth Sweep” at Fannie and Freddie
The headlines yesterday were that the Trump administration had failed to exit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the government-owned conservatorship. This is true…
News Release
New Bank Fair Access Rule Will Cause Costly State of Uncertainty, Red Tape
Today the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury, finalized a new mandate…
National Review
A Big-Government Crackdown on ‘Woke Capital’
National Review cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on the OCC proposed Rule on “Fair Access to Financial Services”: There’s also the matter…
News Release
Biden’s SEC Pick Should Focus on Commission’s Core Mission, Not Political Causes: CEI Experts
President-elect Biden is reportedly set to select Gary Gensler to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler is a current MIT professor who previously served…
The Washington Post
Biden Likely To Tap Gary Gensler To Lead SEC, But The Decision Isn’t Final
The Washington Post cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison on SEC reporting standards: Those efforts may already be in the crosshairs. Richard Morrison,…
News Release
CFPB Taskforce Offers Recommendations to Help Consumers, Fintech Firms
In response to a new report from the CFPB Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law, CEI Senior Fellow John Berlau praised recommendations aimed at helping…
Comment
CEI Comments on OCC Proposed Rule on “Fair Access to Financial Services”
View Full Document as PDF Dear Ms. Boyes: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I submit this comment letter in opposition…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter Opposing Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals Mandate
View Full Document as PDF Dear President Trump, As leaders of conservative and free-market groups strongly concerned about the liberties, prosperity, and health…
News Release
CFPB Makes Needed Changes to Qualified Mortgage Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued final rules related to qualified mortgage loans, which require lenders to determine at the onset that consumers…
National Review
Why a ‘Fairness Doctrine’ for Woke Capital Will Backfire on Conservatives
In his majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Justice Samuel Alito noted that a “corporation is simply a form of organization used by human…
News Release
Comptroller Plan to Impose ‘Fairness Doctrine’ for Banks Goes Against Freedom of Association
CEI Senior Fellow John Berlau criticized a proposal by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to impose a “fairness doctrine”…
The American Spectator
Woke Investing and Management Strategies Threaten the Future of American Free Enterprise
The enlightened titans of the business world, from Davos, Switzerland, to New York, San Francisco, and beyond, are full of suggestions for how commerce and…
News Release
New CFPB Debt Collection Rule Will Help All Concerned
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today put out its long-anticipated rule overhauling federal regulations on debt collectors. CEI financial policy experts praised the bureau…
News Release
Record GDP Numbers: Good News and Next Steps
Today’s GDP numbers are good news — but what policies will help people who still suffering and aid a fuller recovery? Ryan Young, CEI Senior Fellow:…
News-Press
Guest opinion: Raising minimum wage would hurt Florida families, not help them
News-Press cites Competitive Enterprise Institute on wage hikes. A Competitive Enterprise Institute study found that wage hikes come with trade-offs, which include reduced non-wage compensation, fewer…
Washington Times
Should Maryland Decriminalize Sports Betting? Yes.
In November, Maryland voters will weigh in on whether sports betting should be legal in the state. Question 2 would allow certain licensed facilities to…
News Release
Senate Defeats Effort to Undo Reforms to 1977 Community Reinvestment Act
Senate Democrats tried unsuccessfully tonight to undo recent reforms made to the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. CEI financial policy expert Matthew Adams explains why the…
Blog
FinCEN Files Shows Regulatory and Privacy Concerns with the Bank Secrecy Act and the Necessity for Reform or Repeal
Last month, BuzzFeed News published an investigative report that alleged that banks sat on their hands while criminals laundered trillions of dollars over the…
Blog
Fed’s Community Reinvestment Act Reform Proposal Is a Step in the Wrong Direction
Last month, the Federal Reserve released a preliminary proposal to update the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The Fed’s proposal, spearheaded by Obama-appointed Fed Governor Lael…
Blog
Tit-for-Tat Tariffs Don’t Work: Boeing and Airbus Show Why
A 16 year-long aerospace subsidies dispute between the United States and the European Union began another round this week. The U.S. claims that the EU’s…
Blog
New CFPB Reports Find Consumer Credit Resiliency During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Recent research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has found that consumers have not experienced significant increases in negative credit outcomes as a result…
Blog
Finally, a Fix for Fannie and Freddie
In my recent blog post on the 10th anniversary of Dodd-Frank, I lamented that while “this supposed ‘financial reform’ has caused harmful and sometimes…
Blog
California’s Proposed Mini-CFPB Is Cronyist and Ill-Conceived
Earlier this month, the California Legislature passed the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) to create a new state-based regulatory agency modeled after the federal Consumer…
Blog
CEI Event with Hester Peirce and Paul Atkins: ESG, Crypto, and other SEC Hot Topics
Yesterday, in the most recent installment of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s “Repeal for Resilience” event series, CEI President Kent Lassman welcomed Securities and Exchange Commission…
Blog
Don’t Let Feds Become Investing’s Sheriff of Nottingham
Investing company Robinhood and its signature smartphone app have taken off in popularity in the last several months. According to Bloomberg, Robinhood has “catapulted ahead…
Blog
The Washington Post Plays Fast and Loose in Coverage of CFPB performance During Pandemic
In a recent piece, Washington Post Opinions Contributor Helaine Olen slammed CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger for doing too little to protect consumers during the COVID-19…
News Release
SEC Takes Step Towards Equality, Against Privilege with Change to Accredited Investor Rule
Today the Securities and Exchange Commission announced action to liberalize so-called accredited investor regulation. John Berlau, a longtime proponent of such reform, praised the decision.
Forbes
What Comes After Trillion? Coming To Terms With The Impenetrable Costs Of Government Intervention
“We print it digitally,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said of money. They sure do. Real fiscal debt…
Blog
CFPB Shouldn’t Burden Debt Settlement with Regulations that Could Harm Consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently published a report that explores the use and proliferation of debt settlement. While its findings identify some important trends…
Blog
Tragedy of Young Investor Shouldn’t Be Exploited to Harm Freedoms
The recent death of Alexander Kearns, the 20-year-old day trader who took his own life, has sparked a conversation about the business practices of an increasingly important…
American Greatness
U.S. Economy Suffers Biggest Quarterly Decline Ever, Under Coronavirus Lockdowns
American Greatness cites CEI senior fellows John Berlau and Iain Murray: The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are considering bills for additional coronavirus relief…
Forbes
Don’t Exploit Tragedy to Curtail Beneficial Fintech Investing Apps
The recent death of Alexander Kearns, the 20-year-old day trader who took his own life, has sparked a conversation about the business practices…
News Release
Report: Anti-Price-Gouging Laws Do More Harm Than Good
Policymakers called for price gouging laws in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when massive shortages—and rising prices—ensued nationwide for hand sanitizer, personal protective equipment,…
Study
#NeverNeeded Price Gouging Laws Would Harm COVID-19 Response
Price gouging becomes a hot topic during every crisis. It has become especially topical during the COVID-19 crisis. Almost overnight, the need exploded for goods…
Blog
Dodd-Frank Still Harmful After a Decade, But Modest Deregulation Has Helped
Dodd-Frank has caused harmful and sometimes disastrous effects for consumers, investors, entrepreneurs, and Main Street financial institutions such as community banks and credit unions. The…
Blog
Wealthy Millennials Not So Concerned with “Socially Responsible” Investing
In the last few years advocates of corporate social responsibility theory have been assuring everyone who would listen that a new day is dawning for…
Blog
CFPB’s Kraninger Should Drop Navient Litigation in Light of Supreme Court Holding
CEI has praised Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for her many deregulatory initiatives that—in contrast to her predecessor, Richard Cordray—protect consumer…
The Washington Times
CFPB Retools Payday Loan Rules to Help Desperate Americans Access an Important Source of Credit
Despite phased reopenings across the country, the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, keeping unemployment too high and straining personal finances.
News Release
CFPB Offers Relief on Small Dollar Loans
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its long-awaited final rewrite of the payday lending rule, formally titled the Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain…
Blog
Seila Law Leaves More Questions than Answers over the Constitutionality of Past CFPB Actions
On June 29, the Supreme Court ruled the structure of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the majority opinion,…
News Release
Rather than reversing new fair-lending rules, Congress should instead completely repeal the Community Reinvestment Act
Today, House Democrats plan to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn recent actions taken by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)…
News Release
CEI Opposes the Protecting Your Credit Score Act
The House of Representatives today is considering H.R. 5332, the Protecting Your Credit Score Act, a bill that would require credit bureaus to jointly create…
Blog
Webinar Panel: Thoughts on the HEROES Act and Regulation of the Debt Collection Industry
Debt collection firms play a vital role in a market economy, as part of the "plumbing"—the underlying architecture—that makes modern credit markets possible. Legislation to…
The Crypto Report
Ron Paul Fights For Bitcoin After Fed’s Payments System Threatens Crypto
The Crypto Report cites CEI senior fellow John Berlau regarding FedNow: Ever the champion of individual liberty, it is no surprise that Ron Paul…