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
The Cedar Rapids Gazette
Here’s how Iowa is involved in stopping controversial ‘debanking’
Many Americans have recently been exposed to the troubling reality that their government may be encouraging banks to withdraw financial services from people or firms…
Blog
CFPB Unfairly Targets Zelle
As part of a last-gasp effort by the Biden administration to punish legal businesses it disapproves of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued…
Yahoo Finance
Consumer protection agency closes the Biden era taking big swings
Yahoo Finance cited CEI’s financial expert on bad regulations “I can’t speak to the merits of every lawsuit, they’re filing them so fast,” said…
Search Posts
Blog
Gruber’s Disciples Gunning for Your IRA and 401(k)
Is Jonathan Gruber, the MIT economist who seemingly dropped out of public view after he was caught on camera bragging how he and other Obamacare…
Illinois Policy
Illinois House passes nation’s most competitive crowdfunding rules
Illinois Policy quotes CEI`s John Berlau on the proposed bill on crowdfunding by Illinois House: This innovative form of funding is described by…
News Release
CEI’s John Berlau Responds to Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule
Today, the Labor Department is expected to release its long-awaited "fiduciary rule." Ostensibly aimed at addressing potential conflicts of interest by brokers who offer retirement investment advice, Competitive…
Blog
UK Banks End Reward Programs in Anticipation of Interchange Fee Caps
File this one under “we told you so.” The Independent reports a scale-back in credit card reward programs in the United Kingdom: The…
Blog
Operation Choke Point: The CFPB Is Now in Charge
I suggested at TheBlaze some weeks ago that even as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was stepping back from its involvement in Operation Choke Point, the…
Forbes
How ‘Progressive’ Policy Weakens African-American Banks
The Washington Post and other outlets have highlighted the decline of banks owned by African-Americans, however coverage hasn’t connected that trend with…
Blog
International Panel Outlines Problems with EU Interchange Fee Regulation
On March 17, an international panel of experts gathered in Brussels to discuss the proposed EU interchange fee regulations that are set to be approved…
Blog
Least Transparent Administration Closes Records on Fannie and Freddie
This Sunshine Week, the administration that swept into office promising to be the “most transparent” in history was just judged by a major news service…
Newsmax
Obama Plan Could Cripple IRA Choices
Last week, President Obama called on the Department of Labor (DOL) to "update the rules and requirements that retirement advisers put the best interests of…
Blog
How Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary” Rule Could Cripple IRA Choices
Last week, President Obama called on the Department of Labor to “update the rules and requirements that retirement advisors put the best interests of their…
Forbes
Private Sector Fuels Growth; Student Loan Repayment Should Reflect This
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dinged President Obama for his economic policies. “We have a president who thinks we grow…
Blog
Harvard Study Confirms Dodd-Frank’s Harm to Main Street
Literally since the day the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by President Obama, my Competitive Enterprise Institute colleagues…
The Blaze
Operation Choke Point: Consumer Protection Bureau Can Act as Judge, Jury and Executioner to Targeted Businesses
The Obama administration has been waging an undeclared war on businesses it doesn’t like by stretching executive authority beyond its proper bounds. Known as Operation…
Blog
Obama Administration Learned Nothing from 2008 Financial Crisis, Mortgage Expert Says
Ed Pinto had a depressing and revealing op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Friday about how the Obama administration is artificially creating markets for risky mortgages, using…
The American Spectator
Main Street Challenges Dodd-Frank’s Chipping Away at the Constitution
"Wall Street Chips Away at Dodd-Frank,” blared a recent front-page headline in the New York Times about bipartisan measures that have passed the U.S. House…
Forbes
Can Cutting Red Tape Generate $200B For Low-Income Families?
With partisanship de rigueur in Washington, rare moments of compromise are refreshing. One area ripe for bi-partisan reform is occupational licensing. President Obama’s proposed budget…
Blog
Main Street Fights Dodd-Frank’s Chipping Away at the Constitution
“Wall Street Chips Away at Dodd-Frank,” blared a recent front-page headline in The New York Times about bipartisan measures that have passed the U.S. House of Representatives…
Blog
FDIC Retreats from Operation Choke Point
In a partial victory for all those campaigning against the abuse of power known as Operation Choke Point (see our comprehensive study here), the Federal…
Study
Free to Prosper
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new…
Blog
Supreme Court Refuses to Make Dodd-Frank More Draconian
Today, the Supreme Court lifted a cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over consumers, community banks, and credit unions by refusing to take…
Forbes
A Glimmer Of SOTU Compromise? Expanding The Earned Income Tax Credit
Republicans will grimace as President Obama unveils his massive tax hikes in tomorrow’s State of the Union address, however, one policy will receive bi-partisan applause:…
The Patriot Post
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Does Anything But
The Patriot Post quotes CEI`s John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “A government report pegs the price of the work at…
The Daily Signal
Government Agency Under Scrutiny for $215 Million Building Renovation
The Dialy Signal quotes CEI`s John Berlau on the Consumer Protection Bureau office renovations: Costly building renovations at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection…
Forbes
Four Reasons Why ‘High Roller Tax’ On Stock Trading Hurts The Economy
Congressional Democrats’ newly-unveiled economic proposals, likely to reverberate into the 2106 presidential race, continue the drumbeat of class warfare and economic contraction. However well-intentioned,…
Blog
Free to Prosper: Top Priorities for the 114th Congress
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new congressional…
The Daily Caller
Dodd-Frank Relief Is A Better Deal For Homeowners Than Obama’s FHA Folly
“If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” So said Ronald Reagan in 1986. Reagan was describing the unintended…
Blog
Obama Should Help Borrowers by Shedding Dodd-Frank, Not Pumping FHA
“If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” So said Ronald Reagan in 1986. Reagan was describing the unintended effects of…
Investor's Business Daily
Marketplace Fairness Act: Back Door To New Tax
House Speaker John Boehner blocked passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) in the lame-duck congressional session. So consumers were able to shop online this…
Forbes
How Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Is Messing Up That Thing Where You Surf Zero-APR Credit Cards This Christmas
Dodd-Frank financial regulation is the gift that keeps on taking. If you’re juggling Christmas bills, or soon will be—or maybe trying to take advantage of…
Blog
Lame Duck Quacks Needed Dodd-Frank Relief
Waaaah! That’s the sound of former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) crying about stinging, bipartisan rebukes to his legacy of the Dodd-Frank…
Blog
Rep. Leutkemeyer Moves to Choke off Operation Choke Point
The release this week of a new House Oversight and Government Reform Committee staff report into Operation Choke Point provides another opportunity to underline just how…
Real Clear Markets
Entrepreneurs Want Capital, But Not Bank Capital
The Real Clear Markets cites CEi`s John Berlau on the investment regulations: The solution is to unleash capital from the bottom-up and where…
Library of Law and Liberty
The Surprising Economics of Consumer Credit
In the past few years, popular books about economics, such as Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist, have become surprise best-sellers, wowing readers by showing how…
Blog
Towards a Humbler Monetary Policy
Is it possible for opposite policies to both be wrong? Over at the Washington Examiner, I argue that it is. The U.S. is ending…
Forbes
Mired In College Debt, Millennials Need Better Options
As national dialogue continues about the usefulness of a traditional, 4-year college degree, data show the Millennial generation is falling behind previous ones in savings,…
Forbes
Are Fiscal Issues Christie’s Achilles Heel for 2016?
With the Bridgegate scandal apparently fading, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is politically rising after leading GOP governors to a solid Election Day showing under…
CNBC
Why Retailers are Wrong on Apple Pay
There's a war going on for your wallet. Around the world, the credit and debit cards we use every day are under threat from a…
Newsmax
Cut the Red Tape on Crowdfunding
In America and around the world, aspiring entrepreneurs are meeting their colleagues and their mentors in official and unofficial sessions of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Created…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Constitutional Challenge To Be Argued in Appeals Court Today
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) constitutional challenge to the Dodd-Frank Act will be argued this morning in the U.S.
Blog
Liberals and Conservatives Challenge Overreach of Dodd-Frank’s FSOC on MetLife
As CEI brings suit before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow challenging the constitutionality of unaccountable bureaucracies created by the Dodd-Frank “financial reform” law…
Study
Top 5 Things Congress Should Consider During Lame-Duck Session
View the document here During Congress’ lame-duck session, both Republicans and Democrats will dig into a number of stalled pieces of legislation…
Blog
Crowdfunding Is Entrepreneurship’s History and its Future
In America and around the world, aspiring entrepreneurs are meeting their colleagues and their mentors in official and unofficial sessions of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Created…
Study
Declaration of Crowdfunding Independence
Crowdfunding regulation threatens entrepreneurs and their ability to start businesses, create jobs and bring innovative products to the market.
Forbes
Stockton Highlights Nationwide Risk Of Conflict Between Muni Investors And Public Sector Unions
Fixed-income investors are now on notice that their rights could be trumped by public-sector union bosses, following a court ruling granting Franklin Templeton Investments…
The Blaze
Dodd-Frank Court Case Could Provide Injunctive Relief for America
The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 has been a disaster for our financial system. Passed in haste after the financial crisis ostensibly in order to stop…
News Release
CEI Report on Crowdfunding Urges Congress, Regulators to End ‘Millionaires Only’ Rules for Investment
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 – Today, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new report on how regulation threatens entrepreneurs and their abilities…
The Washington Examiner
Federal Judge Tells CFPB it Must Give Depositions Even if Doing So ‘Annoys’
The Washington Examiner asks CEI's John Berlau about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's reluctance to participate in depositions: "John Berlau, a senior fellow at the…
Blog
CFPBs Prepaid Debit Card Rules Will Harm Low-Income Consumers
Today’s action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue unprecedented burdens on providers of prepaid debit cards shows why the bureau needs to be held…
News Release
Prepaid Credit Cards Subject to New Regulation – Statement by CEI’s John Berlau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reportedly poised to impose new regulations on the prepaid card industry. John Berlau, senior fellow with the Competitive…
Blog
The Long National Nightmare of Dodd-Frank Is Almost Over
One of the prime reasons for the continuing economic uncertainty that bedevils so many ordinary Americans is the presence in law of the Dodd-Frank Act…
National Review
Obama’s Peanut-Brained Attack on MetLife
This article was originally published at the National Review on November 6, 2014. One day while sitting on the roof of his doghouse, Snoopy supposedly…
American Spectator
No Triple Mandate for the Federal Reserve
A recent speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen got considerable attention over her subtly implied suggestion that the Fed consider taking on a…
Washington Examiner
Minimum Wage, Maximum Damage
This article was originally published at the Washington Examiner on October 27, 2014. There are few policies more popular than increasing the federal minimum…
Forbes
Regulatory Barriers Are Holding Back Investing And Lending Opportunities For Crowdfunding
This article was originally published at Forbes on October 24, 2014 In a recent Forbes column on the costs of regulation, my Competitive…
The Blaze
Has Operation Choke Point Ended?
Has your bank account been canceled for no good reason? If you’re in a business the government doesn’t like, soon it could be. Firearm sellers,…
Forbes
The Troubling Prospect of Janet Yellen as Liberal Political Crusader
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s unprecedented speech on income inequality harbingers worrisome policy prescriptions by a central bank created to serve limited functions. Her…
Forbes
CFPB’s Loan Report Attacks Lenders Rather Than Empowering Students
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent annual student loan ombudsman report aims to help those falling behind with private lenders. However, its reactive…
Blog
The Economist: Interchange Fee Caps Benefit Large Retailers at Consumer Expense
Surprise! Price controls lead to unintended consequences—including transfers of wealth to parties who lobbied for those controls. That’s the actual – and unsurprising – result…
Blog
See Me at San Francisco Crowdfund Banking and Lending Summit
My colleague Wayne Crews’ Forbes column Monday explained “How Entrepreneurs Can Speak Out About the Cost of Regulation,” but noted sadly that “businesses that never form…
Washington Examiner
Fannie, Freddie Investors Undaunted by Court Loss
A representative of Fairholme Funds, one of the activist hedge funds that brought the lawsuits in both the District and Federal Claims courts, told the…
One News Now
Mobile Checking a “Scheme” or Good for Competition?
John Berlau discusses mobile checking with One News Now: "This week, an article in Salon calls it a scheme to prey on America's…
National Review
Dodd-Frank Will Cripple American Energy
The two recent federal court decisions on Obamacare subsidies — one for, one against — prompted fevered reactions and discussion. By contrast, two recent rulings…
Providence Journal
Disastrous Application of Dodd-Frank Law to Insurance Company
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), an unaccountable, secretive task force of financial bureaucrats created by the Dodd-Frank “financial reform” act of 2010, has decided…
Letters
Letter to House Financial Services Subcommittee on Rights of Private Shareholders
View the Full Letter Here The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), in a coalition of 17 conservative and free-market public policy leaders, sent…
Blog
Lesson from Ex-Im Fight: More Agencies Should Have Sunsets
Congress hasn’t voted just yet on the Continuing Resolution that includes the Export-Import Bank’s reauthorization. But we already know that it will pass this week,…
News Release
Coalition Letter: Conservative and Free-Market Leaders Urge House Finance Committee to Protect Private Property and Shareholders’ Rights
WASHINGTON – Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), in a coalition of 17 conservative and free-market public policy leaders, sent a letter to Chairman Patrick…
Investor's Business Daily
Ex-Im Bank Fight Shows How We Can Sunset More Useless Agencies
As far as flash-point issues go, the Export-Import Bank is about as unlikely as it gets. Few people have even heard of Ex-Im, a federal…
Blog
Dueling Ex-Im Commentary
A vote on the Continuing Resolution, which includes the controversial Export-Import Bank reauthorization was originally scheduled for today, but has been pushed back to next…
Blog
Don’t Tie Ex-Im Renewal to Government Shutdown
It appears Congress will decide the Export-Import Bank’s short-term fate this week. There are several bills with different reauthorization terms, and Rep. Justin Amash and…
Blog
Nationalizing Bitcoin?
The phrase “if you can’t beat them, join them” seems so applicable in light of the Commonwealth of Dominica announcing plans…
Blog
You’re a SIFI, Charlie Brown
“Good grief!” That’s what the Charlie Brown, star of comic strip Peanuts and cartoon spokesman for the MetLife insurance firm, might say about the government’s…
Newsmax
Oversight Council Declares MetLife Too Big to Fail
“Good grief!” That’s what Charlie Brown, star of comic strip Peanuts and cartoon spokesman for the MetLife insurance firm, might say about the government’s actions…
Blog
Ex-Im Update
Congress comes back from its annual August recess next week. One of the top items on its agenda is deciding the Export-Import Bank’s fate. Ex-Im…
The Daily Caller
Eric Holder Avenges Investor Fraud By Taking From Victimized Investors
“Bank of America failed to make accurate and complete disclosure to investors and its illegal conduct kept investors in the dark,” declared a government official…
Blog
Eric Holder Avenges Investor Fraud by Taking from Defrauded Investors
“Bank of America failed to make accurate and complete disclosure to investors and its illegal conduct kept investors in the dark,” declared a government official…
Blog
The Impending BitLicense and Premature Regulations
Last month, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced its proposed regulations for businesses engaged in “Virtual Currency Business Activity.”The Department defines these businesses…
Newsmax
Govt Meddling Creates Auto Loan Mess
Should we worry about a crisis in subprime auto loans? That question has been asked in the financial media lately. As I said recently…
Study
Cutting the Gordian Knot: A Road Map for British Exit from the European Union
This study was originally published at the Institute for Economic Affairs as a finalist for the 2014 IEA Brexit Prize coauthored with Rory…
Blog
The Ex-Im Bank’s Unilateral Disarmament Fallacy
One of the weakest arguments against free trade is the "unilateral disarmament" fallacy--that a country should refuse to liberalize its trade policies until other countries…
Blog
The Case for Closing the Export-Import Bank
Over at American Banker’s BankThink blog, I have a piece making the case for closing the Export-Import Bank, mostly on corruption grounds: The…
Blog
New Study Estimates around $70 billion in Financial Regulatory Costs
Complying with regulations is part of the cost of doing business. For bigger businesses that can absorb those costs (or rather, pass them on to…
Study
Operation Choke Point
Can the government shut down legal but politically disfavored businesses? If an ongoing federal regulatory campaign continues, that may be precisely what happens.
Forbes
SEC Crowdfunding Barriers At South By Southwest
In mid-July, South by Southwest (SXSW) – the Austin-based yearly festival that brings together the creators of film, music and technology every March – trekked…
News Release
“Operation Choke Point” Targets Legal Businesses, Harms American Consumers
Washington, D.C., July 31 – A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report digs into a campaign by federal regulatory agencies to shut down businesses that are…
Products
Dodd-Frank is the new ObamaCare
“If you like your life, home, and auto insurance, you can keep them.” No, President Obama didn’t utter those words when he signed the Dodd-Frank…
Blog
Bitcoin’s Undiscovered Potential
A recent piece in American Banker magazine explores how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can help the underprivileged, particularly the millions of unbanked people who…
Blog
Subprime Auto Concerns Caused by Government Intervention
Should we worry about a crisis in subprime auto loans? That question has been asked in the financial media lately. My answer is yes, with…
Products
New CEI Report Gives 10 Reasons to Abolish the Corrupt Export-Import Bank
New CEI Report Gives 10 Reasons to Abolish the Corrupt Export-Import Bank Time to End One of Government’s Largest Corporate Welfare Programs WASHINGTON,…
The National Review
The Federal Reserve Overreaches
Is the Federal Reserve after your debit and credit cards? In a move little noticed except by those in the payments industry, the Federal Reserve…
Study
Ten Reasons to Abolish the Export-Import Bank
This year’s Ex-Im Bank reauthorization is gearing up to be an even bigger fight. Here's 10 reasons why the Export-Import Bank should be abolished.
The Washington Examiner
Big Ideas: On Dodd-Frank,
As with Obamacare, unintended consequences of [the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law] almost immediately began to surface. First, there was a sharp reduction in free…
The National Review
Dodd-Frank Is Like Obamacare
"If you like your life, home, and auto insurance, you can keep them.” President Obama didn’t make this promise when he signed into law the…
Blog
Cronyism and the Export-Import Bank
Over at Rare, I have a piece on the cronyism angle of the Export-Import Bank debate. The Senate will likely vote this on month on whether…
Rare
Why Ronald Reagan would kill the Export-Import Bank
One of my favorite economics jokes is the Tullock Economic Development Plan. Devised by the influential public choice economist Gordon Tullock, it involves taxing everyone…
Blog
Dodd-Frank Is Obamacare for Non-Health Insurance
“If you like your life, home, and auto insurance, you can keep them.” President Obama didn’t make this promise when he signed into law the…
Blog
Finance for the People
Over at The Freeman, I take a look at how technology has been democratizing access to capital, bringing news ways of raising money to people…
Blog
Ex-Im Reauthorization Fight: Release the Reagan
The Export-Import Bank is up for reauthorization in September. If the vote fails in Congress, the Bank and its $140 billion portfolio will cease to…
The Freeman
Finance for the People
Financial innovation: People like to talk a lot about it these days. But what is it? If you read the business press, it’s all about…
The Blaze
Obama Admin. Is Getting Grilled About a Massive Mortgage Database That Could Be Used for Criminal Investigations
Defying conventional wisdom as he often does, Pulitzer Prize-winning pundit (and fellow Newsmax Insider) George F. Will disputed the notion that in the wake of…
Blog
Questions for Richard Cordray
This morning, Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, testifies to a House Committee on the Board's semi-annual report. One of the Board's…
