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
Sports dominate prediction markets, but don’t bet on that being the whole story
Less than two years ago, the biggest controversy surrounding prediction markets was their enabling of speculation on elections. Then in early 2025, with…
Blog
Let’s end ‘reputational risk’ debanking once and for all
Although this legislative session is near its end, Congress still has the opportunity to take an important step to ensure that financial regulation is…
Blog
Vance wants to break the dollar’s global reserve currency status: Why American consumers would pay
A recently resurfaced video of Vice President J.D. Vance has brought renewed attention to his argument that the US dollar’s status as the…
Search Posts
Blog
Sports dominate prediction markets, but don’t bet on that being the whole story
Less than two years ago, the biggest controversy surrounding prediction markets was their enabling of speculation on elections. Then in early 2025, with…
Blog
Let’s end ‘reputational risk’ debanking once and for all
Although this legislative session is near its end, Congress still has the opportunity to take an important step to ensure that financial regulation is…
Blog
Vance wants to break the dollar’s global reserve currency status: Why American consumers would pay
A recently resurfaced video of Vice President J.D. Vance has brought renewed attention to his argument that the US dollar’s status as the…
Letters
CEI joins coalition to support the FIRM Act
We, the undersigned organizations, write in support of Senator Tim Scott’s Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act.
News Release
Inflation increases slightly in July, Americans still paying higher prices: CEI analysis
July’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows inflation increased 0.1 percent across all sectors, in line with economists’ predictions. With new proposed tariffs…
Blog
Forecasts, not puppet strings: The myth that prediction markets rig reality (Part II)
Prediction markets have become an increasingly prominent tool for forecasting elections, economic indicators, geopolitical developments, and other uncertain events. Their growing popularity has also…
Letters
CEI joins coalition against federal intrusion of bank licensing
Dear Chairman Warsh: Left-wing advocacy groups are urging federal regulators to block the bank license applications of fintech lenders…
News Release
Fed decides to maintain interest rates during July FOMC meeting: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced it will maintain interest rates, signaling a continued commitment to the fight against inflation. The Fed is remaining…
Blog
Forecasts, not puppet strings: The myth that prediction markets rig reality (Part I)
Prediction markets have become an increasingly prominent tool for forecasting elections, economic indicators, geopolitical events, and other uncertain outcomes. As their popularity has grown,…
News Release
Inflation drops some in June, does not yet indicate inflation relief is here to stay: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for June fell 0.4 percent, mostly canceling out May’s 0.5 percent increase. While this may provide some immediate…
Letters
CEI leads free-market Coalition Letter applauding SEC Proposal to End Quarterly Reporting Mandate With Semiannual Option
Dear Chairman Atkins: As leaders of conservative and free-market organizations interested in reducing red tape that limits opportunities for middle-class investors and entrepreneurs,…
Blog
Lessons Kevin Warsh can learn from the late Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan’s recent passing provides an opportunity to reassess his legacy as Chairman of the Federal Reserve and consider the lessons Kevin Warsh can…
Blog
Before reform comes review: What Warsh’s task forces could mean for the Fed
Major institutional reforms rarely begin with sweeping policy changes. More often, they begin with a willingness to reexamine long-standing assumptions. That is what makes…
Reason
Monetary policy analyst Steve Swedberg is cited in Reason regarding the decision to cap credit card fees. Arguments back and forth convinced…
Blog
Remembering Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan passed away this week. National Review was kind enough to run my remembrance of him: There…
Blog
Time to end the SEC’s surveillance of everybody’s finances
Today is the deadline for filing regulatory comments on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) program. The CAT is a…
Blog
Three consequences of Illinois’ interchange fee law
In my new CEI paper, I examine the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act and what policymakers can learn from previous efforts to restrict…
Washington Times
Twenty-Six jurisdictions to hike minimum wage next month
Sean Higgins was quoted in the Washington Times regarding the minimum wage debate. Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise…
Comment
CEI Comments on Federal Reserve’s Regulatory Capital Rules
Dear Mr. McDonough, On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I am pleased to comment to the Board of Governors of the Federal…
Read the Full Study
Report: Government limit on credit card interchange fees undermines consumers, small businesses
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report examines an Illinois law that will limit credit card interchange fees paid by merchants to the banks and credit unions that issue…
Study
The Hidden Costs of Interchange Fee Bans
The state of Illinois risks transforming the Land of Lincoln into the Land of Patchwork Price Controls. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), passed…
News Release
Federal Reserve moves to keep interest rates steady during its June meeting: CEI analysis
The Fed has decided to keep interest rates where they are, signaling the focus is still on economic uncertainty and asserting its independence…
Blog
The house doesn’t always win: Why prediction markets aren’t gambling
“If it talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.” That phrase is not reserved for ducks. It…
The Washington Examiner
Warsh faces similar trap to the one that led to huge inflation in 2022
CEI senior economist Ryan Young is cited by the Washington Examiner on the inflation rate. The problem for Warsh is that former Fed…
Washington Times
Inflation rises again, driven by energy costs amid Iran war
The Washington Times cites Finance and Monetary Policy Analyst Steve Swedberg on inflation and rising costs: “The economic data provide little support for…
The Washington Times
Inflation rises again, driven by energy costs amid Iran war
The Washington Times cites CEI’s Steve Swedberg on inflation and the continual push for lowered interest rates. The report on rising inflation arrived…
Reason
Inflation Reaches 4.2% as Prices Outpace Paychecks
Reason cites senior economist Ryan Young regarding inflation. The fact that those two lines have now crossed again should be setting off…
The Center Square
Inflation spikes to 4.2% in May, highest in three years
The Center Square cites senior economist Ryan Young on inflation numbers. The Competitive Enterprise Institute said a rate hike could be coming at…
News Release
Inflation still stubbornly high in May, future rate increase growing more likely: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for May shows inflation rose 0.5 percent across all sectors, with energy continuing to be a major factor…
Blog
Trump’s Strait of Hormuz insurance plan gambles with taxpayer dollars
As wars and skirmishes escalate, the risks to commerce increase and are reflected in market prices. In past conflicts, shipping firms faced soaring premiums…
Washington Examiner
Business
Soaring stock market defies broader US economic doldrums CEI senior economist Ryan Young gave comment to the Washington Examiner regarding consumer bias in stock…
Washington Examiner
Fed and Warsh under increasing pressure to keep rates higher, thanks to labor market strength
CEI senior economist Ryan Young gave comment to the Washington Examiner regarding price stability. Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
CEI Report: AI Industrial Policy Schemes Create “Misalignment by Design” and a New AI Welfare State
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute contends the greatest risk associated with artificial intelligence is not technological misalignment but what author…
Washington Examiner
Market expectations for rate hike haunt Warsh and GOP
The Washington Examiner cites Senior Economist Ryan Young on the consumer price index: Additionally, the producer price index showed wholesale inflation shot up…
Blog
Colorado legislature joins Illinois in breaking national payment system
One of the glories of the modern economy is that you can walk into a store anywhere in America, or indeed much of the…
National Review
Bank regulators finally back off reputational risk overreach
We are in the middle of a quiet revolution in how banks are regulated in the United States, and you can be forgiven if you…
Blog
Less discretion, more discipline: Three focus areas for Warsh at the Fed
New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh should focus on three dimensions of reform: how the Fed makes decisions, the size of its market footprint,…
Bloomberg Tax
SEC Proposes Scaling Back Auditor Testing of Fraud Safeguards
Most US-listed companies would be exempt from requirements they hire an outside auditor to field test safeguards meant to ensure investors can rely on…
Blog
How the Bank Holding Company Act helped shape modern banking consolidation
Back in the 1950s, Congress feared a future in which a small number of powerful banking organizations would dominate the financial sector.
News Release
April PPI shows inflation still a major problem for the Fed and the economy: CEI analysis
The April Producer Price Index (PPI) shows a 1.4 percent jump, the largest increase since 2022. Inflation remains a stubborn issue for the…
Blog
Deputizing banks for citizenship verification could halt America’s financial greatness
A few weeks after he was confirmed as Treasury secretary last year, Scott Bessent delivered a message to the American Bankers Association that regulatory…
News Release
Inflation increases again in April, no end in sight for higher energy prices: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index for April shows inflation increased by 0.6 percent across all sectors, slightly lower than March’s 0.9 percent but still…
News Release
SEC seeks end to quarterly reporting mandate: CEI analysis
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed to end mandatory quarterly reporting for public companies and switch to semiannual reporting. “The SEC…
Chicago Tribune
Steve Swedberg: Springfield’s interchange fee ban takes a costly swipe at Illinois consumers
I have many fond memories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, including eating out at Lou Malnati’s, visiting Chicago museums on weekends and…
Blog
CEI leads coalition supporting OCC preemption of Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
CEI today sent a letter to Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, cosigned by 22 other free market groups, supporting his office’s…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter Supporting Preemption of the Misguided Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
Dear Comptroller Gould, On behalf of our organizations and the members they represent, we write to support your office’s moves to preempt the Illinois Interchange Fee…
Comment
CEI comments on OCC’s proposed implementation of GENIUS Act stablecoin regulation
Dear Comptroller Gould:On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on OCC-2025-0372, the OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking…
Blog
The limits of balance sheet runoff at the Fed
At his confirmation hearing last week, Kevin Warsh called for a smaller Federal Reserve balance sheet. This statement revives debate over how the…
News Release
Fed keeps a hold on interest rates for now, debate on balance sheet a highlight for next Fed Chair-hopeful Warsh: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has decided to keep interest rates steady, aligning with economists’ and financial analysts’ predictions. With the Senate Banking Committee voting…
Comment
CEI Comments on Federal Reserve Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Prohibition on Use of Reputation Risk or Other Supervisory Tools to Encourage or Compel Banking Organizations to Engage in Politicized or Unlawful Discrimination
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is pleased to have the opportunity to comment on the Federal Reserve’s current notice of proposed rulemaking,…
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