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
Interest rates not budging, Fed to focus on inflation not stimulus: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve announced today that they are holding steady on interest rates in a continued effort to combat inflation. CEI senior economist…
Issues and Insights
Congress Misses Opportunity To Repeal IRA Stock Buyback Tax
Republicans hailed the One Big Beautiful Bill for achieving tax cuts and spending reductions. Despite this victory, the bill was missing a fix for an unwarranted…
Blog
Favorable selection in Medicare Advantage can’t be managed from the top
A previous post covered how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) attempts to mitigate upcoding have been unsuccessful. Another often-decried activity…
Search Posts
News Release
GSE Reform Proposal a Positive Step Towards Reducing Government Role in Housing Finance
The Treasury Department today released a proposal aimed at reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both Government Sponsored Entities or "GSEs." According to the proposal,…
Blog
Marijuana Industry Bank Reform on Capitol Hill Agenda
While the continued legalization of recreational and medicinal use of marijuana at the state level has undoubtedly been a win for liberty, there remains much…
Blog
Debt Collectors Keep Credit Market Flowing
Debt collecting is a profession that gets little love, but given the social good done by debt collectors who operate ethically and follow the rules,…
Comment
CEI Comments on CFPB Proposed Rule on Debt Collection Practice
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI"), we are pleased to provide the following comment letter on the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s (“Bureau”…
The Washington Times
Trump’s Tariff Delay on China Eases Christmas Worries, Sends Markets Higher
The Washington Times cites Senior Fellow Ryan Young on tariffs: Ryan Young, a senior fellow at the free market Competitive Enterprise Institute, said…
The Kevin Miller Show
Kevin Miller 6am 080819
CEI President and CEO Kent Lassman joined the Kevin Miller Show to discuss the state of the economy.
News Release
Federal Reserve’s FedNow Payments Processing System Illegal and Misguided
The Federal Reserve today announced plans to set up a payment processing system called “FedNow.”…
The Wall Street Journal
Death by Accounting?
The likelihood of a flu pandemic this season may be remote, but many in Washington don't want to take chances. Agencies from the Centers for…
Blog
VIDEO: Financial Services for Everyone
Our friends at the Cato Institute recently hosted an excellent discussion on financial opportunity and inclusion titled “How Credit Is Reaching Underserved Communities,” featuring an…
News Release
Banks, Credit Unions Should Not Be Threatened for Doing Business with Cannabis Industry
Cannabis businesses have real trouble securing banking services, due to the fact their product remains illegal under federal law. Today the Senate Banking Committee held…
DepositAccounts
Banking 101: What Is the Durbin Amendment?
DepositAccounts cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on Dodd-Frank and the Durbin Amendment. “In 2009, the year before Dodd-Frank, 76% of checking accounts were…
News Release
Heavy-Handed Regulations Could Deny Consumers the Benefits of New Facebook Cryptocurrency
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing todayfocused on Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, “Libra.” The hearing will consider the cryptocurrency’s impact on consumers, investors and…
Newsmax
Volcker Rule Burdens Banks, Markets
Newsmax cites a recent coalition letter signed by CEI opposing the Volcker Rule. That legislative ban would seem to apply here, because as…
News Release
Mnuchin Pushes Discredited Arguments Against Cryptocurrency
On news today that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned against Facebook’s proposed digital currency, Libra, as a national security risk and potential boon to “money…
Blog
Defiance of Congress Melts Federal Reserve Credibility
In advance of his testimony yesterday before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was the subject of a front-page story in The…
Yahoo Finance
Federal Agencies Kill Big Banks’ Hopes of Escaping Volcker Rule
Yahoo Finance cites CEI on restrictions on proprietary trading. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, wrote to the five…
Consumer Reports
One Month Left to Opt Out of Chase Binding Arbitration
Consumer Reports cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on credit card regulations. According to John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter to Oppose Federal Reserve’s Real-Time Gross Settlement System
We write to express strong opposition to the Federal Reserve’s consideration to operate a Real-Time Gross Settlement system and urge the Federal Reserve to reevaluate…
Blog
Commonsense New Debt Collection Rule from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed in 1977, over forty years ago, at a time when telecommunication technology was in its infancy…
Blog
Facebook Libra Highlights Flaws of Fed Foray into Real-Time Payments
More than ten years after the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto published the source code for Bitcoin, and after hundreds of other cryptocurrencies have been introduced, Facebook…
Phys.org
With Virtual Money, Facebook Bets on Disrupting the World, Again
Phys.org cites CEI’s Senior Fellow on Facebook’s new cryptocurrency. “If successful, Libra could have benefits for consumers and small businesses in reducing the transaction…
Marketplace
Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Prompts Regulation Concerns
Marketplace cites CEI’s Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on Facebook’s new cryptocurrency. Patrick Hedger, a research fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the Libra…
Blog
Overhaul Internal Operations at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
One of the most important, yet least visible, changes a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director could make is to reform the internal operations of…
Reason
Stop Treating the Government With Respect
Reason cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on regulatory agencies. Those strictures no longer look so strict. New York state’s blue-tribe government last year…
The Pacific Research Institute
Emergency Financial Lifelines at Risk of Disappearing in California
The Pacific Research Institute cites CEI on lenders and revenue generated from short-term loans. While a $100 two-week loan does generate revenue —…
Blog
Regulators Should Foster Financial Innovation
It is becoming increasingly apparent that financial technology, or “fintech,” like other forms of technology, can drastically improve consumers’ lives. Yet one of the most…
Blog
Electric Vehicle Tax Credits Not Popular with Americans: Poll
A recent survey conducted for the American Energy Alliance clearly shows that the public does not support congressional efforts to extend or expand federal tax credits for purchasers of…
Blog
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Should Acknowledge Its Unconstitutional Structure
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s structure is unconstitutional. The agency’s leadership should recognize it as such.
Blog
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Should Define ‘Abusive’
The Dodd–Frank Act was a mammoth overhaul of financial services regulation. Along with creating an entire new consumer protection agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,…
Yahoo Finance
VIDEO: S&P 500 Companies Tighten their Capital Spending, Rising 3% from a Year Ago
Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray joins Yahoo Finance to discuss capital spending.
Blog
SEC’s ‘Regulation Best Interest’ Respects Investor Choice
Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved final rules that comprise “Regulation Best Interest,” which will govern conduct of broker-dealers in their transactions with retail investors. Any…
Blog
Prevent Another Mortgage Crisis: Let Qualified Mortgage ‘Patch’ Expire
Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its rulemaking agenda for Spring 2019. While there weren’t too many surprises in the agenda, which mainly…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Foreign Reference Pricing Legislation
We write in opposition to proposals that import foreign price controls on medicines into the U.S. through international reference pricing.
Blog
Don’t Let Credit Scoring Kerfuffle Compromise GSE Reform
Just when it seemed that reforming the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was becoming a “third rail” that politicians did not want…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter in Support of Confirming Mark Calabria to be Head of FHFA
View Full Document as PDF Dear Majority Leader McConnell, We write to express support of Dr. Mark Calabria’s nomination to be Director…
Blog
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Should Drop Flawed Enforcement Actions
While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s role in enforcing consumer protection laws is important, there are times when it oversteps the mark and brings frivolous…
Blog
Narrowly Address Fair Lending Requirements to Spare Impact on Small Business
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to collect, report, and make public certain information concerning…
Blog
Reform Fair Lending Laws to Uphold Rule of Law
The CFPB’s new director, Kathleen Kraninger, assured the Senate Banking Committee in her confirmation hearing that she was committed to upholding the rule of law.
Blog
Regulators Should Rescind ‘Small-Dollar’ Loan Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is one of the most controversial regulators in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street…
Blog
Credit Card Interest Cap Would Create Consumer Credit Bread Lines
Last Thursday Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) teamed up to introduce a bill that only two democratic socialists could have dreamed up.
Blog
Alice Rivlin, 1931-2019
Some economists do more than teach classes and write books. Alice Rivlin, who passed away this week, was proof. She was the first director of…
Blog
Good and Bad of Government’s Debt Collection Proposal
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a much-anticipated proposal to revamp the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a forty-two year old…
Comment
CEI Comments on CFPB Payday Loan Rule
View Full Document as PDF Introduction On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I am pleased to provide the following comment…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Revival of Expired Tax Extenders
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Leader McCarthy, and Leader Schumer, Over 16 months ago, a package of temporary business tax breaks known as “tax extenders”…
Blog
Australian Government Tempts Mortgage Crisis
It seems that Australia’s political parties are suffering from collective amnesia. After spending the earlier half of the year criticizing banks for abrogating their responsible…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank
Dear Members of Congress: On behalf of our groups and organizations, which collectively represent millions of Americans across all 50 states, we urge you to…
Blog
The Economic Illiteracy of a 36 Percent Interest Rate Cap
Earlier this week, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on a draft bill that proposes to set a national 36 percent annual percentage…
Blog
Will Reforming Consumer Finance Regulation Cause a Recession?
Will reforming consumer finance regulation cause a recession? That is the claim of a recent article in The Hill. Yet, the article provides little evidence to…
The Hill
Federal Reserve defies White House and Congress on Banking Regulation
President Trump and the Federal Reserve continue to clash over interest rates, but another simmering dispute concerns the regulatory burden the Federal Reserve and other…
Blog
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting Reformed Payday Loan Rule
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute led a coalition of eighteen free market organizations in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to rescind portions of…
