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
Cato Institute
The Fate of ‘Never Needed’ Regulations
Parking lots and parking garages have served for decades as venues for clandestine meetings in the movies and often in reality. In the early 1970s,…
News Release
House poised to end Biden-era CFPB overdraft rule: CEI statement
The House is expected today to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution overturning a Biden era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule to cap…
Issues & Insights
Reviving Community Banking By Lifting Barriers To New Banks
Americans have far fewer banks to choose from than they once did. The American banking industry has consolidated, with the number of U.S. banks falling…
Search Posts
News Release
New Financial Regulations Will Expand Bureaucracy
In a new study released this week, Competitive Enterprise Institute scholars size up the Treasury Department’s recent proposal to restructure the way…
Newsletter
Green Homes, Free Trade and Housing Discrimination
Multi-million dollar homes raise controversy for claiming “green” building credentials. Congress prepares to consider a new trade agreement with Colombia. An appeals court rules apartment…
Newsletter
The Exaflood, Mortgage Bailouts and Bear Stearns
Rising demand for bandwidth-intensive Internet applications threatens to swamp existing network capacity. The Senate considers a bill to “rescue” the U.S. housing market. Senators investigate…
News Release
Senators Investigate the Credit ‘Crisis’
Today, Federal officials and the CEOs of Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase will testify before the Senate Banking Committee on recent turmoil in U.S.
Newsletter
The Fed, Biotech Crops and Mortgage Bailouts
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson officially announces a plan to reform oversight of financial markets. Research into genetically modified crops gets a boost in India. President…
Newsletter
Paulson’s Plan, International Competition and New Leadership at FTC
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to reform oversight of financial markets sparks intense debate. U.S. capital markets lose ground to international competitors. President Bush appoints…
Citation
Shady HUD Secretary to Resign
News Release
CEI Opposes Broad New Powers for Federal Reserve
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today unveiled a plan for restructuring the federal role in regulating financial institutions. The blueprint contains good recommendations on…
Citation
Optional Federal Chartering of Insurance Companies
Citation
National Flood Insurance Program
Op-Eds
Bear Fire Sale Leaves Owners Without A Say
Bear Stearns shareholders, the true owners, are being denied a voice in the fate of the firm.
Op-Eds
Freedom and its Digital Discontents
Read John Berlau's closing statement in the Economist.com debate "Proposition: By intervening to regulate business and financial risks, governments have made things worse."…
News Release
Congress’s Online Gambling Ban: Burden Without Benefit, Says Study
Current laws about Internet gambling have had damaging unintended consequences far beyond their intended target.
Study
Time to Fold the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
A bad law that could threaten America’s banking system…
Citation
5 Absurd Product Bans
Newsletter
Sarbanes-Oxley, Cancer Drugs and Discrimination Law
The National Law Journal warns that penalties in the Sarbanes-Oxley accounting rules for public companies can extend to individuals and private entities. Drug maker Cephalon…
Newsletter
Recession, Trade and Home Ownership
White House advisors cite the slowing economy as part of their call for tighter regulation of mortgage lenders. U.S. exports…
Citation
the Chamber of Commerce’s Support of Optional Federal Chartering
Study
The Community Reinvestment Act’s Harmful Legacy
How the CRA has hurt those it was intended to help, residence of low income neighborhoods with little access to credit.
Citation
South Carolina Homeowners Insurance Reform
Newsletter
Interest Rates, Video Games and an Economist Debate
Investors expect the Federal Reserve to enact a rare full percentage point cut in interest rates. A federal appeals court rules that Minnesota cannot fine…
Citation
the Possibility of a Recession
Citation
On the Verge of Another Fed Rate Cut; Update: Interest Rate Lowered .75 to 2.25 Percent
Study
Some Answers about Credit Unions
A recent, widely circulated advertisement from the American Bankers Association asks some questions of the credit union industry. They’re good questions and, in…
Newsletter
Gun Rights, Spitzer’s Legal Legacy and Economic Stimulus
The Supreme Court prepares to hear a challenge to Washington, D.C.’s city-wide ban on handguns. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer officially resigns from office today…
Op-Eds
Freedom and its Digital Discontents
John Berlau, director of CEI's Center for Entrepreneurship, debates Sarbanes-Oxley in the Economist…
Newsletter
Bandwidth Flood, Ethanol Victims and Insurance Mandates
Politicians debate the possibility of requiring Americans to purchase health insurance. Ethanol mandates continue to raise prices on agricultural producers around the country. Internet experts…
Study
Property and Casualty Insurance Report Card
Full Document Available in PDF According to Barron’s, the U.S. dominates the…
Study
The Case for Interstate Insurance Choice
Why Creating National Markets for Property and Casualty Insurance and Health Insurance Will Help Insurers and Consumers…
Citation
Dumb Product Bans
Study
First Steps toward Restoring Florida’s Insurance Market
Full Document Available in PDF As Florida’s Legislature proceeds with its…
Study
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
This paper focuses on five clearly absurd product bans that seem to serve no social good.
The Atlantic
Taxi Cab Confessions
Study
Restoring Florida’s Insurance Market
By the end of the 1990s, Florida’s property insurance market had largely recovered from the effects of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, one of the costliest storms…
Op-Eds
A Disaster in the Making
Late last year, two recently elected southern Republican governors, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Florida's Charlie Crist, vowed to work together for a "national catastrophe fund"…
The Atlantic
Stimulation-Palooza: The Inevitable Lard-Up
The Atlantic
Stimulicious Stupidity
The Atlantic
Chuck Schumer Wants a Second Stimulus Package
National Review
Will the Stimulus Package Stimulate Marital Breakdown?
Op-Eds
Lawmakers, undo some of 2007 reforms
A year has passed since Gov. Charlie Crist and a nearly unanimous Legislature hailed the arrival of a new era for Florida’s property insurance…
National Review
Grantor’s Tax Should Be Repealed, Too
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine now wants to repeal the abusive-driver fees contained in Virginia’s 2007 transportation law, even though he signed that law and…
Study
Pros and Cons of Optional Federal Chartering for Insurers
Full Document Available in PDF The National Insurance…
Op-Eds
Vaccine Vindication
The vaccine preservative Thimerosal is not linked with autism, a new study reports. The data also suggest that the dilettante "scientist" Robert F. Kennedy,…
Products
CEI Planet: November – December 2007
Full Document Available in PDF The Tiger at a…
News Release
Bush Scheme for Lowering Home Mortgage Payments Could Trigger Credit Crunch
Washington, D.C., December 6, 2007—President Bush today week unveiled a plan to push financial institutions to "voluntarily" agree to freeze interest rates for adjustable-rate…
News Release
New Video: Cheers to Repeal Day!
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network is releasing a new video just in time to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition…
News Release
Mortgage Sub-Prime Crisis Examined in New Report
Washington, D.C., November 8, 2007—As Congress scrambles to "fix" the sub-prime crisis that’s plunged mortgage lenders into bankruptcy and homeowners into trouble, a new…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS President Bush threatens to veto the 2007 Farm Bill. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct…
Study
Web Memo: How an OFC Would Impact the States
Introduction…
News Release
Wildfire Crises Exacerbated by Government Forest, Insurance Policies
Washington, D.C., Oct. 26, 2007—In the aftermath of devastating fires ravaging parts of Southern California and causing an estimated $500 million in damage, it’s…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. BUSINESS Residents of southern California survey the damage from recent wildfires. CEI Expert Available to Comment:…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL Several states prepare to sue the federal government over regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. CEI…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH The House of Representatives prepares for a vote to override President Bush’s veto of the…
Study
South Carolina’s Omnibus Coastal Insurance Legislation
Full Document Available in PDF In early 2007, South Carolina…
Letters
Letter to Congress in Support of Optional Federal Chartering
Dear Member: I’m writing to you in response to a letter that the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) recently…
News Release
Supreme Court Stoneridge Case: Junk Lawsuits Harm Investors
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258…
News Release
Senate Weighs Plans for Overhauling Morass of State Insurance Regulation
Contact: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 2007— The Senate banking committee this…
Study
Optional Federal Charter for Insurers: FAQ
Full Document Available in PDF This paper provides a free market perspective on the…
Op-Eds
Crist’s insurance ‘fix’ might leave you broke
When former Gov. Jeb Bush recently said his successor's insurance reforms were “as bad as the natural disasters themselves,” he understated his case. As…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The Supreme Court rejects an appeal by tobacco companies in a class action lawsuit brought by…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Senators grill Google on consumer privacy concerns connected to the planned buyout of online…
Letters
Principles for Windstorm Insurance: A Joint Statement
The United States has entered a period of heavy hurricane activity. Much of the focus in the public policy debate has centered on insurance against…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. AUTOMOBILITY Anti-car activist prepare to celebrate “World Car-Free Day.” CEI Expert Available…
News Release
Credit Union Deregulation Could Help Small Businesses
Washington, D.C., September 19, 2007—If Congress moves to de-regulate credit union business lending, it would help some selected categories of small businesses, according to…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. BUSINESS Homeowners and small businesses look to yesterday’s interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve to ease a wide-spread…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY & AGRICULTURE The “UN warns of unrest as food price inflation hits developing countries,” pointing the finger…
Blog
Sen. Johnson is Back
Senator Tim Johnson, returned to work yesterday. His return means that the debate over Optional Federal Chartering of insurance will heat up (link…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY State attorneys general pressure MySpace, Facebook and other social networking websites to implement stricter…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ECONOMICS Officials and residents debate whether the federal government should subsidize rebuilding efforts in hurricane-prone…
Blog
What Gives in South Carolina?
I’m writing this from the new library in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. It’s a big, open all glass building that I wouldn’t want to be…
Op-Eds
Bankrupting Florida
If a catastrophic Katrina-like hurricane sweeps through the state of Florida, it may leave behind more than wrecked houses, damaged shops, and ruined roads:…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Microsoft presses the Federal Communications Commission to make broadcast spectrum available for wireless service.
Op-Eds
Barriers to more effective US disaster insurance
Sir, You are right about the need for much greater purchase of disaster insurance but, perhaps, say verylittle about how difficult it might be…
News Release
Sarbanes-Oxley Fifth Anniversary Marked by Problems
Washington, D.C., July 30, 2007—Tuesday, July 31st is the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s signing of the Sarbanes-Oxley bill aimed at protecting investors from…
Blog
Should Disaster Insurance Be Compulsory?
A masthead editorial (full text by subscription only) lays out a compelling case for mandatory purchase of catastrophe insurance. I’ve long supported something close…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Lawmakers prepare to vote on a major new farm bill. CEI Expert Available to…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Lawmakers prepare to vote on a major new farm bill. CEI Expert Available to…
News Release
New Insurance Bill Helps Insurers and Consumers
NOTE: Due to the speed at which this press release was written, not all parties quoted reviewed it before it was sent. All quotations,…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The city of Washington, D.C. asks the Supreme Court to review a recent federal court verdict…
Op-Eds
Short on Storm Coverage
So long as hurricanes continue to sweep through Florida's landscape, Floridians will have to find ways to repair the damage. As the Sentinel…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
1. CONGRESS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman John Dingell prepare for a showdown on energy policy. CEI Expert Available to…
Blog
Mandatory Purchase
In a piece in Saturday's Washington Examiner, I examine the parallels between auto insurance and health insurance, and, for the most part, find that…
Op-Eds
The Road to Health Care Reform
When they buy automobile insurance, Americans enjoy a market that provides many choices, lots of competition, and, in most places, reasonable rates. Residents of…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Health Michael Moore’s controversial documentary on health care in America, Sicko, opens nationwide.
News Release
National Opening of “Sicko” Has Pro-Freedom Activists Crying Foul
Washington, DC, June 29, 2007—With Michael Moore’s documentary indictment of the U.S. health care system, Sicko, opening at theaters nationally this weekend, members of…
Op-Eds
Charleston’s Uncommon Tragedy: Fires do less damage today than ever before
Nine firefighters perished as a terrible inferno swept through <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Charleston’s Sofa Super Store this past Monday…
Blog
Long Term Outlook on Underwriting Profits
I had an op-ed yesterday’s Washington Times about the rather dismal insurance situation along the Gulf Coast. A friend e-mailed me to challenge one…
Op-Eds
Hurricane Eye on Insurers
Throughout the hurricane zone that follows <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America's Atlantic coastline from Texas to North Carolina, a populist…
Blog
Mea Culpa (Sorta) on Credit Scoring
No sooner did I post my thoughts about the Supreme Court decision on credit scoring than I got an e-mail from an American Insurance…
News Release
Study: SOX Rules Rob Investors of Ability to Build Wealth
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., June 7, 2007—Sarbanes-Oxley, the federal law aimed at protecting investors from corporate abuses, is actually hurting…
Study
SOXing It to the Little Guy
Remember 1982, when video games, personal computers, and cordless phones were new—and the companies that made these products were new? If investors could travel back…
Study
Will Repealing the Federal Insurance Antitrust Exemption Help Or Hurt Consumers?
Full Document Available in PDF If…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Issues in the News 1. MEDIAA federal appeals court strikes down Federal Communications Commission’s rules for…
Blog
SCOTUS On Insurance and Credit Reporting
A Supreme Court Decision handed down today, Safeco v. Burr, mostly sided with two insurance companies in a dispute over notifications related to the…
Blog
Banning “Discrimination” That Might Protect Safety
Politicians love to vote against “discrimination.” It makes them feel saintly, even if the law they vote for has unintended consequences, saddles businesses with red…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONSUMER The Washington Post reports on CEI’s campaign to protest substandard appliances resulting from energy efficiency mandates. 2.
News Release
Insurance Reform Bill Could Have Big Impact on Consumers
Washington, D.C., May 24, 2007— America has a deeply troubled auto and homeowners’ insurance system. A bill to be introduced today in Congress may…
Blog
Selling Insurance on the Web
Today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription only) features an article about the increasing use of the Web for the sale of insurance policies. I was…
Blog
Wildfires in California: A Growing Residual Market?
We may be seeing the emergence of yet another residual market for insurance, this time against wildfire. Even though fires have declined a great…
Blog
Property Insurance Becomes a Legislative Casualty
The Florida legislature recently passed a bill regulating property insurance rates in response to complaints that premiums in certain hurricane-prone areas were too high.
