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
Citation
Newsom Looks To Extend Carbon Cap Policy, Fund Rail Boondoggle As Possible Gas Crisis Looms
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on gas prices “California refining capacity is dying, it is dwindling,” Marlo Lewis Jr., a senior fellow at the Competitive…
PYMNTS
Bankers Tell Congress Regulation Hinders M&A and ‘De Novo’ Formation
PYMNTS cited CEI’s expert on bank mergers and de novo banks “In every business sector, new entrants are essential to the functioning of a competitive,…

Blog
Under Biden or Trump, taxing carried interest is stupid and destructive policy
No matter who’s in charge of the presidency or Congress, flawed proposals to close the so-called carried interest loophole just keep coming back. News outlets…
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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…