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
Why can’t we just print more money?
Last week, I attended an event at a think tank where the conversation centered on the federal budget and national debt. At one…
Blog
Buy Now, Pay Later doesn’t mean pay more, owe more, and panic more
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has become a familiar way to pay for everything from discretionary purchases to everyday expenses. BNPL lets consumers divide…
News Release
Report analyzes and offers reforms to the current US-proxy advisory system
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new report that analyzes and critiques the current US proxy-advisory system and offers strong reforms that…
Search Posts
Washington Times
Solutions: How to Reduce Unemployment
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke recently said the recession is probably over, as third-quarter growth in gross domestic product will likely be positive. But…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, Insurance Reform and Another ACORN Scandal
Senate Republicans abandon an attempt to stop the FCC’s proposed net neutrality regulations. New Orleans braces for the arrival of “Out of the Storm 09:…
Washington Times
New Orleans Conference to Address Coastal Insurance Issues
Blog
Big Health and Energy Tax Increases for the Middle Class from Obama and Liberal Congressmen
Even the trimmed-down version of Obama's health-care plan recently announced by a ranking Senator contains lots of tax increases for the middle class.
Washington Times
Ex-Massachusetts Commissioner Praised for Auto Deregulation Efforts
Washington Times
Subprime Mortgage Catastrophe
Newsletter
Obama on Wall Street, EPA Backlash and Health Care Roadblocks
President Obama gives a major speech in New York on the future of Wall Street. The Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to censor data on global…
News Release
One Year After Wall Street Meltdown, Obama Targets Main Street
One Year After Wall Street Meltdown, Obama Targets Main Street Statement by John Berlau of CEI Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs Washington, D.C., September…
Washington Times
The Meltdown Next Time
When the insurance giant American International Group was threatened with collapse in late 2008, its credit default swap business and other international operations were…
Newsletter
Intel’s Human Rights, Overdraft Fees and Insurance Deregulation
Intel argues that a recent $1.45 billion fine levied by European antitrust regulators amounts to a violation of the firm’s “human rights.” Banking industry critics…
News Release
CEI Comments on Resignation of Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Burnes
A Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, commented today on the announcement that Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes would…
Letters
CEI to Florida Legislature: Despite Politicians’ Claims, Insurers Continue to Flee the State
Dear Senator, Attached you will find five editorials that have been published in recent weeks by newspapers around the state. These editorials were…
Study
Restoring the Private Property-Insurance Market to Reduce Florida’s Risk of Financial Insolvency
Full Document Available in PDF Foreward by Robert F. Sanchez, Policy Director, The James Madison Institute As Florida faces a…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: July – August 2009
The July-August 2009 issue of the CEI Planet features coverage of CEI’s 25th Anniversary Gala, and articles on federal catastrophe insurance and TARP transparency.
News Release
Berlau in New York Times on Overdraft Fees from Debit Cards – with Misleading Headline
John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was a guest contributor this week to the New York…
RealClear Markets
Does Intel Have Human Rights?
Intel's battle for the ages against the European Commission's antitrust regulators has a surprising new twist: Intel is claiming that its human rights were violated.
RealClear Markets
The AIG Effect: AIG Aftermath Spurs State Regulators to Modernize
RealClear Markets
The BofA Bonus Show
Newsletter
Labor Lobbying, India’s Greenhouse Gases and Honduras’ Financial Struggle
Labor unions gear up to lobby for the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act,” which could impose binding federal arbitration in union disputes. India’s emissions of…
RealClear Markets
Coastal Insurance Reforms a Good Start
When he took office at the beginning the year, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin set his sights on North Carolina’s broken coastal insurance system. Now…
Blog
Matt Taibbi versus Sensible Health Care
In a blog post at Rolling Stone, Journalist In Name Only Matt Taibbi accuses the media of “help[ing] sandbag health care reform.” In the…
Newsletter
EPA’s Illegal Rule, Junk Food Lawsuits and Hurricane Preparedness
The Environmental Protection Agency moves to limit greenhouse gas restrictions to only large industrial sources. Anti-obesity campaigners agitate for taxes and legal restrictions on foods…
Newsletter
A Doctor Shortage, Cap and Trade in the Senate and TARP Transparency
The American Medical Association lobbies Congress to restrict the number of new doctors in the U.S. Senate sponsors of “cap and trade” global warming legislation…
RealClear Markets
CEI’s Lehrer Writes Congress to Support Increased CU Biz Lending
News Release
CEI Reacts to ‘Florida Preparedness Month’
Letters
Let Credit Unions Lend to Small Businesses
Full Letter Available in Word Today’s difficult economic situation stems, in large part, from a shortage of credit. Banks, thrifts and other…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity, Consumer Snitching and an Insurance Downgrade
A new bill to would give the White House “cybersecurity emergency” powers. Consumer Reports magazine turns a high-performing showerhead over to the EPA for exceeding…
News Release
CEI Responds to Tower Hill Rating Downgrade
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, reacted to A.M. Best’s rating downgrade of Tower Hill Insurance Companies and Tower Hills’ subsequent decision…
RealClear Markets
Obama Keeps Lying About Health Care, Even After Being Caught
You just can’t trust President Obama’s claims about his health-care plan. He keeps on lying even after he is caught lying and his lies…
Newsletter
Wireless Probe, Nanotechnology Funding and Ted Kennedy, RIP
The Federal Communications Commission launches a three-part investigation into competition in the wireless industry. The National Science Foundation dispenses new grants for nanotechnology research in…
Blog
Ted Kennedy’s Deregulatory Legacy on Airlines and Trucking
Tributes are pouring in for Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer late Tuesday evening at the age of 77.
Blog
CEI’s RRM Suggests Additional Questions for Florida Insurance Commissioner
Yesterday in a press release from CEI's Center for Risk, Regulation, and Markets, the Center raised many questions that should be brought to Florida Insurance…
Newsletter
Healthcare Complexity, Union Politics and Insurance Markets
Critics question the unwieldy complexity of current healthcare legislation. A compromise version of the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” gains momentum in Congress. Florida Rep.
RealClear Markets
Government Run-Health Coops Would be Different
Re: "The insurance co-op is already in your neighborhood," Aug. 19 State Farm is an admirably run insurer, but its structure may…
Washington Examiner
Nanotechnology: Innovation vs. Corporate Welfare
For the sake of consumers, nanotech firms should compete in the marketplace, not in Washington. Otherwise a vibrant, dynamic, and innovative sector risks…
News Release
CEI Suggests Questions for Florida Insurance Commissioner
Scholars at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, today urged Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty to accept Rep. Scott Plakon’s invitation to…
Washington Examiner
New Credit Card Law Punished Responsible People
If your credit is good, or your credit card balance is low, you may soon pay more on every credit card bill. Why? Congress…
Washington Examiner
The Anticipated Consequences of Credit-Card Reform
Study
Principles for Property Mitigation Discounts
Legislators should be wary of efforts to mandate specific mitigation discounts without paying attention to the myriad other factors that can play a major role…
Washington Examiner
Closing Reinsurance Tax Loophole Proposed in Congress
Washington Examiner
Don’t Ban but Expand Them
In proposing his new financial regulations this summer, President Obama pledged to get tough on the big Wall Street banks whose risky practices are…
Newsletter
Swiss bank settlement, Hurricanes, Healthcare debate continues
UBS agrees to turn over to the IRS the names of 4,450 U.S. account holders. …
Washington Examiner
Regulators Tangle With Think Tank Over Fla. Market Picture
Newsletter
The Future of Coal, Rose Friedman and Florida Insurance
Environmental activists try to shut down and limit the use of coal-fired power plants. Economist and author Rose Friedman dies at age 98. Florida’s insurance…
News Release
UBS Settlement Only a Partial Victory for the Feds
The following is the statement of John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, in reaction to…
Blog
Legal Experts and Civil Rights Commission Attack Obama Health-Care Plan As Unconstitutional
Constitutional law professor Rob Natelson argues that Obama’s health-care plan is unconstitutional in four different ways. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights…
Washington Examiner
State Farm Wants to Make More Money From Florida
News Release
CEI Critiques FL. Commissioner McCarty’s Insurance Report
CEI CRITIQUES FL. COMMISSIONER MCCARTY’S INSURANCE REPORT “The Same Misinformation in a New Package” TALLAHASSEE, August 17, 2009 – Florida Office of Insurance Regulation…
Blog
Tim Carney on State-Level Insurance Protectionism
In one regulated area of the economy after another, it’s exasperating to hear journalists and pundits claim that, “The market has failed,” when in fact…
Newsletter
TARP Transparency, Stimulating Recession and Union Arrogance
Congress cites a lack of financial transparency in a report sharply critical of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout. The economies of Germany and…
Staff & Scholars
John Berlau
Senior Fellow and Director of Finance Policy
- Banking and Finance
- Deregulation
- Financial Regulation
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International
Steve Swedberg
Finance and Monetary Policy Analyst
- Banking and Finance
- Deregulation
- Financial Regulation