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Gov. Youngkin should veto restrictive credit bill
While many watchful eyes focus on the economic impacts of actions of federal lawmakers inside the Beltway, pending legislation in a statehouse 100 miles south…
News Release
February inflation numbers not yet reflective of Trump’s tariffs: CEI analysis
Inflation rose 0.2 percent across all sectors in February, down from 0.5 percent in January. CEI senior economist Ryan Young says Trump’s tariffs did…
The Economic Standard
The CFPB drops its misguided case against Zelle
Seemingly as part of the general order to stop work by acting director Russ Vought, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has …
Search Posts
Blog
The State of Financial Regulation
President Trump will deliver his inaugural State of the Union address next week, where he will outline the administration’s agenda for the coming year. Here…
Blog
A New Day at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
According to Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will now stick to enforcing consumer protection laws as written, but not attempt go beyond that…
Blog
Durbin Amendment Update: No More Free Checking for the Poor
The Durbin Amendment strikes again. Today brings further evidence that the little-known amendment authored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), which imposed price controls on…
Blog
Tax Reform Outperforms Government Programs on Community Investment
Tax reform is the gift that keeps on giving. Americans for Tax Reform has documented the ever-growing list of companies providing pay raises, bonuses, 401(k)…
Blog
Increasing Public Awareness Bolsters Potential for Blockchain Applications
Blockchain is a software architecture that seems very likely to unleash profound global forces if it crosses over into the mainstream.
JD Supra
Overturning the CFPB’s Final Payday Loan Rule by Reopening Rulemaking or CRA Resolution
JD Supra covers developments of the CFPB’s payday loan rule and Daniel Press’ “7 Reasons to Oppose the Federal Payday Loan Rule.” On December 1, 2018,…
Blog
Payday Loan Options Serve Consumers Well
Congress should use the Congressional Review Act to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s payday loan rule.
The Washington Times
White House Urged to Kill Obama-era Payday Lending Rule
The Washington Times covers CEI’s letter sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) regarding the payday-lending rule. A free-market group is urging…
Breitbart
Potential Nomination of McWatters to Head Up the CFPB Hits a Rough Patch
Breitbart discusses possible Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) nominee Mark McWatters with John Berlau. The potential nomination of National Credit Union Adminstration Chairman (NCUA)…
The National Law Review
Overturning the CFPB’s Final Payday Loan Rule by Reopening Rulemaking or CRA Resolution
The National Law Review discusses the various vehicles that could be used to repeal the CFPB’s small-dollar loan rule. On December 1, 2018, three…
Blog
The White House Can Save the Small-Dollar Loan Industry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small dollar loan rule should be retracted on Paperwork Reduction Act violations alone. …
USA Today
Federal Payday Lending Rule Could Face Repeal Amid New Battle
USA Today covers the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to delay the small-dollar loan rule. Consumer advocates and business groups are battling anew over…
American Banker
Not So Fast: CFPB Effort to Reopen Payday Rule Faces Hurdles
American Banker covers the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to delay the small-dollar loan rule. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces significant obstacles in…
The Hill
New CFPB Director Puts Target on Payday Loan Rules
The Hill covers the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to delay the small-dollar loan rule. The new leaders of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…
Blog
Taming the Beast: Reform Ideas for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s complicated, one-size-fits-all rules with high compliance costs favor large banks with armies of lawyers while restricting the working poor’s access…
Blog
7 Reasons to Oppose the Federal Payday Loan Rule
Congress should use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small dollar loan rule.
The Washington Examiner
Trump Budget Chief Shuts Down Consumer ‘Protection’ Bureau ‘Slush Fund’
The Washington Examiner covers the review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ‘slush fund.’ An educational “slush fund” used by the Consumer Financial Protection…
JD Supra
The IRS Succeeds in Compelling Crypto Exchange to Disclose User Information
JD Supra covers an amicus brief by CEI in Coinbase v. United States. As the price of bitcoin leaps and lurches toward new highs,…
News Release
CEI Congratulates Hester Peirce
Competitive Enterprise Institute President Kent Lassman congratulated Hester Peirce on her confirmation to the Securities and Exchange Commission: “Hester Peirce understands the real…
Blog
The Top Five Reforms in Financial Regulation Needed in 2018
With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at last pulling back from its regulatory assault on the financial services industry, conditions are right for major…
Blog
House Takes Lead on Bank Reform, Senate Should Follow
The House of Representatives has passed a significant piece of financial legislation, H.R. 3312, the “Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act.”…
Blog
Digital Finance Pioneers Using Bitcoin for Savings, Payments,…and Donations
Your support for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, given in Bitcoin or dollars, can help us strengthen the hand of the businesses that offer a revolution…
Blog
A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Slush Fund?
While there are many reasons to criticize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), it being assigned to enforce the nation’s financial consumer protection laws…
JD Supra
U.S. v. Coinbase: Virtual Currency Holders Not Outside the IRS’s Reach
JD Supra covers U.S. v. Coinbase and CEI’s amicus brief in the case. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, on…
Blog
End CFPB’s Collection of Americans’ Financial Data
Last week, when the drama of the dueling directors began at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), I told The Washington Examiner that the…
Bloomberg BNA
House Bid to Ax Payday Rule Kicks Off With Bipartisan Support
Bloomberg BNA covers introduced legislation that would block the CFPB’s payday lending rule. A House resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s small-dollar…
CNBC
New House Bill Would Kill Consumer Watchdog Payday Loan Rule
CNBC covers the blockage of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s payday loan rule. Congress has it in for consumer protections enacted by the Consumer Financial…
Blog
Back to Basics after Bitcoin’s Wild Rise
The alternate currency known as Bitcoin has had a wild week, and its dramatic rise in value has meant that many Americans are hearing and…
Blog
Big Changes Needed to Senate’s Financial Reform Bill
While the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act is a good first step, Republicans must push for more dramatic reform.
Blog
Case of Mortgage Lender PHH Corp. Highlights CFPB’s Unconstitutional Abuses
The facts of PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stand as a sharp example of the agency's ability to abuse its enormous power.
Blog
Court Orders Coinbase to Turn over Cryptocurrency User Data to IRS
Congress should revisit the law to protect privacy and due process in IRS investigations.
Consumer Reports
You Still Can’t Sue Your Bank. So What Can You Do?
Consumer Reports covers the repeal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s anti-arbitration rule. The Senate’s recent vote to let forced-arbitration language …
Blog
Overturn CFPB’s Payday Loan Rule to Protect Vulnerable Consumers
Members of Congress must demonstrate the courage to stand up for consumers and against the rogue agency.
The Washington Times
Judge Rules in Favor of Trump in Battle over CFPB Leadership
The Washington Times covers the ruling in the fued over leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A federal court rejected efforts by anti-…
Blog
What Should Congress Do About the Volcker Rule?
The Volcker Rule is a Dodd-Frank regulation that prohibits federally insured banks from engaging in “proprietary trading,” which is trading with their own capital. It…
The Washington Examiner
CFPB’s ‘NSA-Like’ Surveillance in Limbo with Leadership Tussle
The Washington Examiner discusses Mick Mulvaney’s appointment as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with John Berlau. The fight for control of…
Breitbart
CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney Orders 30-Day Hiring, Regulatory Freeze
Breitbart covers Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney’s hiring and regulatory freeze. Mulvaney declared that President Trump “wants me…
Fox Business
Trump’s CFPB Won’t Be Obama’s: Key Ways It Could Be Different
Fox Business discusses Mick Mulvaney’s appointment as acting director of the Consumer Financiual Protection Bureau with Iain Murray. As the battle wages on over…
The New York Post
Banks Remain Quiet on Mulvaney CFPB Appointment
The New York Post discusses Mick Mulvaney’s appointment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with Iain Murray. While Washington was buzzing on Monday over…
Blog
Under New Leadership, What is the Future of the CFPB’s Payday Loan Rule?
In the current uncertainty surrounding the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), several issues require urgent attention. While the most pressing may…
News Release
Judge Sides with Trump in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Fight
Upon news that a federal judge this afternoon ruled against a bureaucrat who claimed that she, not President Trump’s appointee Mick Mulvaney, is the lawful director of the…
Blog
Acting CFPB Director Mulvaney’s Bipartisan FinTech Work
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has long broken bread with folks he disagrees with to find common ground on policy.
The Washington Times
Protecting Consumers from Fraud and Abuse
Following Richard Cordray’s resignation as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the smart money is betting that President Trump will appoint Mick Mulvaney, head…
Blog
Federal Office of Financial Research Violates Privacy, Produces Little of Value
The American people would be better off without it.
The Hill
Why Are We Still Regulating Main Street Like Wall Street?
It’s no secret that banks across America aren’t doing well under the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. Since Dodd-Frank’s enactment in 2010,…
Blog
Good Riddance to Finance Regulator Richard Cordray
The resignation of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray is long overdue.
Blog
Tear Down the Wall Between Banking and Commerce
The separation of commerce and banking has little relevance in the 21st century.
Blog
Fed Confirms Government Regulation Is Not the Answer to Equifax Data Breach
More regulation will not help protect the financial system against cyber attacks, such as the Equifax hack.
Blog
Property Rights of Fannie and Freddie Shareholders—Including Small Investors—Must Be Respected
Private investors should never be guaranteed any type of government bailout. At the same time, they should not have their property and contract rights violated.
RealClear Markets
Undoing President Obama’s Damage Will Take Time
RealClear Markets covers the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017. Indeed, another reason to oppose new government undertakings is that each creates groups…
The Washington Times
Trump Signs Legislation to Repeal Obama-era Arbitration Rule
The Washington Times discusses the repeal of the anti-arbitration rule with Iain Murray. President Trump signed legislation Wednesday afternoon repealing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s…
The Washington Examiner
Payday-Loan Borrowers Need Protection from the Poorly-Named Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
In an epic, down to the wire vote last week Congressional Republicans narrowly overturned a regulation that would have enriched lawyers at the expense of…
Blog
A ‘Personal Appeal’ to President Trump to Fire CFPB’s Cordray
Yesterday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray released a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to veto Congress’ recent anti-arbitration rule resolution.
Real Clear Politics
It’s Time for Trump to Kill the Regulatory Swamp Monsters
In Real Clear Politics, Steve Forbes cites CEI’s “The Case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” President Trump has successfully taken a chainsaw to some…
Blog
Pressure Grows to Reform Bank SIFI Designations
What makes a bank risky? While a simple question, the answer is anything but. As the 2008 crisis proved, managing risks in the financial system…
Wall Street Journal
VIDEO: Opinion Journal: Arbitration Vote: Lawyers Lose, You Win
Iain Murray, Vice President for Strategy at CEI, joins Mary Kissel of the Wall Street Journal to discuss the repeal of the CFPB’s anti-arbitration rule.
Blog
Why Congress Should Block the CFPB Payday Loan Rule
Republicans have been looking for a political win for a while. They finally got one this week by overturning the Consumer Financial Protection…
Marketplace
AUDIO: How Restrictions on Class Action Lawsuits Affect the Arbitration Industry
American Public Media’s Marketplace discusses arbitration and class action fairness with Ted Frank. View the interview here on the Marketplace website. …
The Daily Caller
Senate Kills Obama-Era Financial Rule
The Daily Caller discusses the repeal of the CFPB anti-arbitration rule with Ted Frank. The Senate narrowly laid to rest a Consumer Financial Protection…
Reuters
Republicans, Wall Street Score Victory in Dismantling Class-Action Rule
Reuters discusses the Senate’s CRA vote regarding the CFPB’s anti-arbitration rule with Ted Frank. Banks, credit card issuers and other financial companies will be…
Bloomberg BNA
Business Groups Attack ‘America First’ Merger Review Bill
Bloomberg BNA discusses the United States Foreign Investment Review Act of 2017 with John Berlau. Senate legislation to increase scrutiny of mergers proposed by…
Blog
Senate Set to Vote to Block CFPB’s Harmful Arbitration Rule
After months of speculation, the Senate will today vote to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule banning financial institutions from including arbitration clauses…
Blog
Government Regulation is Not the Answer to the Equifax Hack
The recent Equifax hack has placed an enormous amount of pressure on legislators to further regulate the credit-reporting industry. While such a response may be…
Blog
Treasury: CFPB’s Arbitration Rule Falls Short
The Department of the Treasury has released its analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Arbitration Rule, which bans the use of…
Fox Business Network Online
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Hurting Those it Was Designed to Protect?
Fox Business Network Online covers CEI’s “Case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” by Iain Murray. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been a…
Blog
Congress Should Fix Fintech Lending Model
The House Financial Services Committee marked up a whopping 22 bills last week. While many are noteworthy, such as ending Operation Choke Point, repealing…
U.S. News & World Report
Cutting Off Consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just released a new rule against payday loans, but instead of helping consumers avoid some pitfalls of borrowing, it will…
Blog
Financial Transactions Tax Not the Answer for Africa
French President Emmanuel Macron is advocating for a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions to fund more foreign aid for Africa.
Blog
Congress Should Roll Back New Payday Loan Rule
The hysteria in Washington around the release of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final short-term, small-dollar loan rule has been immense.
National Review Online
Consumers Harmed by Consumer Protection Bureau – Again
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued yet another rule that will harm consumers. A new rule on small dollar loans will kill off about…
The Hill
Abolish Financial Protection Bureau Before it Does More Harm
The Hill covers CEI’s “Case against the Financial Protection Bureau” by Iain Murray. With each passing week, the speculation grows that the activist liberal…
Blog
New Research, Same Story: Government Housing Policy Doesn’t Work
The Urban Institute today published an updated report, titled Nine Charts about Wealth Inequality in America. As part of the project, the authors highlight…
Blog
Bank Regulatory Relief in Time for White House ‘Deregulation Day’
Happy Deregulation Day! Today, the Trump administration is celebrating the benefits of an America liberated from red tape. As I mentioned in a blog…
Blog
Bank Regulator Report: ‘Arbitration Rule’ on Credit Cards Will Raise Costs on Consumers
A new report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency refutes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s argument that its Arbitration Rule will have…
Blog
What White House ‘Deregulation Day’ Can Do for Finance and Banking
On Monday the Trump Administration is launching the first ever Deregulation Day, highlighting the benefits of an America liberated from bureaucracy.
Blog
Senate Introduces Regulatory Relief for Regional Banks
Removing burdensome restrictions on regional and community banks will ensure financial stability while helping local communities prosper.
Blog
Nine Years on from the Financial Crisis and We’re No Safer
The real cause of the 2007-08 financial crisis was overwhelmingly the product of government intervention.
Reason
Defenders of the CFPB’s Newest Financial Regulation Are Ignoring Crucial Facts
Reason discusses the anti-arbitration rule in regards to the Equifax breach with John Berlau. In the wake of the Equifax breach, in which hackers…
Blog
Bailout Mentality Persists in International Banking Despite Reform Attempts
Europe, in an effort to ensure that the next banking crisis would not end in a taxpayer bailout, created bail-in rules and started performing stress…
Blog
Fat-Cat Attorneys’ Bogus Arguments on Arbitration Rule
Fat cat class-action attorneys and their apologists are getting desperate.
The American Spectator
Why Trump Must Fire Obama Holdover Cordray
In the private sector and during his short time as president, Donald J. Trump has never been shy about firing subordinates. Yet some powerful Obama…
The Hill
Disappointments Aside, Sessions Has Been on a Winning Streak for Trump Supporters
The Hill covers the upcoming DOJ decision on the structure and constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For someone who, like me,…
Foundation for Economic Education
Economic Freedom Is the Best Weapon Against Poverty
Over the past few decades, hundreds of millions of people have risen out of poverty to grow into a powerful global middle class. This unprecedented…
Blog
Sen. Reed’s Harmful and Foolish Opposition to Arbitration in Consumer Finance Disputes
Sen. Reed and his allies are using hard cases to put the interests of trial lawyers above the interests of a free people.
Wall Street Journal
Where Was CFPB While Wells Fargo Plundered?
F. Paul Bland asserts (Letters, Sept. 12) that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule is necessary to avoid “immunity” for Wells Fargo for…
Investor's Business Daily
How Can We Fix The CFPB? Shut It Down
Investor’s Business Daily covers the release of The Case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by Iain Murray. Regulation: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s very…
Blog
CEI Comments: Volcker Rule Has Failed to Make Financial System More Stable
CEI submitted comments on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) proposed revision to the Volcker Rule, a federal regulation that bans…
Blog
Might Australian Financial Regulators Finally Embrace Greater Competition?
Over the past few weeks, I have been rather critical of the state of financial regulation in Australia. A banking scandal earlier this month revealed…
The Daily Caller
Elizabeth Warren’s Consumer Protection Agency Should Be ‘Abolished,’ Says Think Tank
The Daily Caller covers the release of “The Case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” Consumers are being harmed by the same federal…
National Review Online
The Government Shouldn’t Collect Private Financial Information from America’s Poor
National Review covers a new rule by the CFPB in which they collect personal financial data. One area of agreement, in principle at least,…
Blog
One Solution to the CFPB’s Problems: Pass the Financial CHOICE Act
My new paper, The Case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Unconstitutionally Structured and Harmful to Consumers, which is out today, makes the case…
InsideSources
Three Early Lessons From the Equifax Hack
InsideSources covers the Equifax breach and Jim Harper‘s response to it. It’s been almost two weeks since Equifax reported the hack of 143…
Blog
Debit Cards Fee Limits Have Big Impact on Payday Loans and Overdraft Charges
Seven years on from the inception of the Durbin Amendment, it has pushed nearly a million consumers out of formal financial services by raising the…
Blog
Poll: Americans Don’t Trust Big Bank Regulators
Bank regulators should foster an environment of financial competition, where institutions compete on the merits of their products and bear their own risks, instead of…
Blog
Ending the Myth of ‘Too Much’ Bank Competition
It’s time to let the idea that too much competition is bad for financial stability finally die.
Blog
Congress Moves on Financial Reform Bills
Nearly a decade on from the 2007-08 financial crisis, it is clear that the federal regulatory regime is not working.
Federal Times
Report Calls for Drastic Workforce Cuts at Regulatory Agencies
Federal Times covers CEI’s publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. The non-profit Competitive Enterprise Institute is all about shrinking government. In a newly released report…
Blog
The Equifax Breach and Regulation
In the Equifax breach, regulation is a likely contributor to the problem. It is probably not a good solution.
Blog
Why Should Millennials Want to Shrink Government Bureaucracy?
Free markets and limited government are for every generation.
Forbes
IRS Responds To Privacy, Other Challenges In Bitcoin Records Fight
Forbes covers the amicus brief filed in Coinbase v. United States. The federal government fired back last week as answered opposition to its…