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
News Release
Federal Reserve keeps interest rates steady, higher inflation likely to continue: CEI analysis
The Fed has decided to keep interest rates steady, with inflation still too high to warrant rate cuts. With Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s term…
News Release
SEC to seek end to quarterly reporting mandate: CEI analysis
The Securities and Exchange Commission will propose to end mandatory quarterly reporting for public companies, and give companies the option to file semi-annually instead, according…
The National News Desk
Inflation steady in February, but war risks new price surge
The National News Desk cited CEI’s expert on CPI data “The longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the greater the upward pressure on energy…
Search Posts
Blog
Crowdfunding Rules: Four Years Late and Millions Short
Today, Monday, May 16, more than four years and one month after Congress passed and President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act…
Watchdog.org
Lending influence: Progressive group profits from pushing financial regs
Watchdog.org discusses new regulations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with John Berlau. One of the chief advocates of the CFPB’s regulatory actions…
Newsmax
Let’s Fix Crowdfunding so Middle-Class Investors Can Profit
More than four years and one month after Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012, the…
National Review
Google Bans Payday Loan Ads: Who Needs Operation Choke Point?
Yesterday, Google announced in a blog post that it was changing the terms of its advertising service to ban payday-loan ads. Their reasoning was…
Foundation for Economic Education
Is the British Prime Minister a Tax Dodger?
It’s the issue that consumed British politicians and newspapers at the end of April. What Britons do about it will determine whether their nation will…
Newsmax
Financial Protection Bureau Takes Aim at Consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just proposed limiting binding-arbitration clauses in credit card contracts and other forms of consumer credit. This does not come…
National Review
The CFPB Moves to Ban Arbitration Clauses — Better Lawyer Up
Add another 377 pages to the ever-burgeoning length of the Dodd-Frank Act. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Racket Bureau announced that it would use its…
Wealth Management
Why the DOL Rule Is Bad for Small Savers
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) “fiduciary rule,” likely to first take effect in June unless blocked by Congress or the courts, will deprive small…
Legal Newsline
U.S. House passes resolution to block DOL’s fiduciary rule
Legal Newsline reports on a letter from CEI and other organizations to Congress urging them to pass a resolution of disapproval to block the Department of Labor's Fiduciary…
Letters
CEI and 30 Free-Market Groups Support Vote to Block Labor Department’s Fiduciary Rule
Full Document Available in PDF Members of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, represent millions of Americans in defense of free…
Blog
CEI Supports Vote to Block Labor Department’s Fiduciary Rule
Today, Congress has the opportunity to block the costly "Fiduciary Rule."…
Blog
FSOC Misunderstands Leverage, Threatens Risk Management
The Financial Stability Oversight Council recently released its “Update on Review of Asset Management Products and Activities,” in which it questions “how certain asset…
National Review
A Chance to Stop Obamacare for Your IRA
A few weeks ago I warned about the Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule” – Obamacare for your retirement accounts. Now comes a chance…
Blog
The Chilling Effect of Dark Matter
Here at CEI, we know all about the chilling effect of executive power. We also know quite a bit about the extent to which…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition to Oppose Taxpayer Bailouts for Government-Run Insurance Schemes
Full Document Available as PDF Dear Representative, On behalf of the millions of citizens represented by the undersigned groups, we write in…
Bloomberg
As Dodd-Frank Fight Continues, the Resistance Scores Some Victories
Bloomberg discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with CEI's Sam Kazman. That fact, combined with the CFPB’s independence from the congressional appropriations process,…
Blog
Who Died and Made Dodd-Frank Regulators Gods?
Meet the new deities. They apparently sit on the Financial Stability Oversight Council and other regulatory agencies, especially those created by the Dodd-Frank banking “reform”…
Blog
Final Fiduciary Rule: Dave Ramsey May Get Relief, But the Rest of Us Don’t
While the final rule may have been less severe, it still won’t keep middle-class savers from losing access to brokers and insurance agents.
Washington Times
Obama imposes more regulations on financial advisers
The Washington Times discusses the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule with John Berlau. “The fiduciary rule is like Obamacare for your IRA and…
National Review
Obamacare for Your IRA is Here
This administration can’t see a private market transaction it can keep its hands off. The latest example is a new regulation with the snooze-inducing title…
Blog
Obama Unveils Fiduciary Rule this Week, Putting Middle Class Investors in a Bind
Today, the Labor Department plans to unveil new regulatory restrictions on 401(k)s and IRAs. That means less access to financial advice and fewer options for…
Forbes
MetLife’s Victory Also Good for Fintech Innovators
Insurance giant MetLife won a big victory Wednesday as a district court rescinded the government’s designation of the firm as “systemically important.” Though not…
Forbes
How the Fiduciary Rule Will Harm Fintech and Startups
Add startup entrepreneurs and Fintech innovators to the long list of potential victims of the Department of Labor’s pending fiduciary rule. There is already bipartisan…
Comment
Comments to the SEC on Derivative Regulation
Full Document Available in PDF The SEC proposes this rule “to take an updated and more comprehensive approach to the regulation of funds’…
Newsmax
Obama Spouts Big Govt at Austin Festival
President Obama traveled here to the ongoing South by Southwest festival from Washington, D.C. — and so did I. In his March 11 presentation, he…
Blog
Berlau at SXSW: Let’s Cut Red Tape Strangling Uberization of Finance
AUSTIN, TX—President Obama traveled here to the ongoing South by Southwest festival from Washington, D.C., and so did I. In his March 11 presentation, he …
Blog
Questions for CFPB Director Richard Cordray
Tomorrow, Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will face questions from the House Financial Services Committee. Here are some of the questions…
National Review
The CFPB is a Great Example of Why People Feel Powerless
Tomorrow, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray takes the stand at a House Financial Services Committee hearing. He deserves to be hauled over the…
Politico
Politico Morning Money – GOP debate wrap
Politico's Morning Money highlights John Berlau's response to a Slate piece on the fiduciary rule and financial radio broadcasters. Berlau Pushes Back —…
Wall Street Journal
Will the Fiduciary Rule Silence Media Personalities?
The Wall Street Journal discusses John Berlau's analysis of the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule. Early this month, the Competitive Enterprise Institute said…
Forbes
Yes, The Fiduciary Rule Could Censor Dave Ramsey And Others Providing Over-The-Air Financial Tips
If there were a “fiduciary” rule requiring pundits to accurately describe a pending bill or regulation to their readers, Slate’s Helaine Olen would be in…
New American
Proposed Federal Regulation Could Squelch Popular Financial Advisers
The New American discusses the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule with John Berlau. The Obama administration has proposed a regulation that the…
The Blaze
Here’s Why a New Obama Regulation Could Mean Trouble for Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman
The Blaze reports on the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule and highlights John Berlau's report on the proposed rule. “In fact, according to…
NewsBusters
How Convenient: Labor Dept. Rule May Remove Financial Advice From the Airwaves
Media Research Center's NewsBusters mentions John Berlau's article on how the fiduciary rule will censor financial radio personalities. As John Berlau at the…
Western Journalism
Wow: The Obama Admin Is About To Do Something That Could Crush Dave Ramsey
Western Journalism reports on the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule and highlights John Berlau's study on the proposed rule. In a study by…
Forbes
How Fiduciary Rule May Censor Financial Broadcasters Like Dave Ramsey
Popular financial radio show host Dave Ramsey caused a firestorm on Twitter last week when he weighed in against the “fiduciary rule”—the controversial pending Department…
Blog
Australian Bank Devalues Rewards Scheme in Anticipation of Interchange Fee Cap
I fear I am beginning to sound like a broken record on the subject of payments card interchange fees, with the needle stuck on “We…
News Release
Report: Obama’s ‘Fiduciary Rule’ Harms Middle Class Investors
The Obama Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule will devastate middle class investors by blocking access to investment choices and guidance for their 401(k)s and IRAs,…
Daily Caller
REPORT: Feds Are Destroying Free Choice In The Retirement System
The Daily Caller discusses John Berlau's report on the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule. The Department of Labor (DOL) has argued people…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Rule Would Cost Middle Class $80 Billion in Lost Savings
The Washington Free Beacon highlights John Berlau's report on the Department of Labor rule that will hurt middle-class investors. The Department of Labor…
Think Advisor
Speaker Ryan Continues to Assail DOL Fiduciary Rule
Think Advisor highlights John Berlau's report on the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule that will harm middle-class investors. Today, the Competitive Enterprise…
Study
The Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule for Dummies (But Not the Dummies They Think We Are)
Whether you're a portfolio manager or an everyday investor you should learn how the fiduciary rule can affect you.
Heartland Institute
GAO: Small Banks, Credit Unions Hurt by Dodd-Frank
The Heartland Institute discusses Dodd-Frank with John Berlau. John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says consumers are objectively worse…
Blog
The Improvisational Fed, and Unpredictable Regulations
Improvisation can be a wonderful thing when performed by talented hands—Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and the like. The Federal Reserve, especially for the past several…
Letters
Coalition Letter Against Discriminatory Taxes on Reinsurance
Full Document Availible in PDF Dear Chairmen Brady and Hatch and Ranking Members Levin and Wyden: The undersigned members of the Coalition for…
National Review
Obamaloans Are Back
As I warned back in 2014, the President’s budget contains a clear sign that he would like to nationalize the small dollar lending market.
Daily Caller
Energy Bill Greens Financial Agencies
Cronyism and boondoggles in a massive energy bill – or any bill of similar length with dozens of provisions and hundreds of pages — is…
Blog
Don’t Put Eco-Finance Measures in Energy Bill
Cronyism and boondoggles in an energy bill is nothing new in the U.S. Congress. But this week, senators of both parties are taking the process…
Daily Caller
House Passes Bill Aimed At Operation Choke Point
The Daily Caller mentions two recommendations CEI had for the bill curtailing Operation Choke Point prior to its passing in the House. The Competitive Enterprise Institute recommended…
Blog
White House Threatens Veto to Choke Point Reform Bill
As has been demonstrated time and again, this administration is opposed to any change in the law that will reduce its powers. We see this…
Blog
How to Get Rid of Obsolete Regulations
The House this week is considering H.R. 1675, the Encouraging Employee Ownership Act, sponsored by Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.). I’ll leave it to my colleague…
News Release
House Leads Effort to End Operation Choke Point Abuse
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Thursday, February 4, on a bill curtailing Operation Choke Point, an Obama administration initiative launched in 2013…
Blog
Bill Aims to Stop Operation Choke Point Happening Again
Operation Choke Point is a major abuse of executive authority. As we have detailed over the last couple of years, Choke Point is an…
Blog
Interchange Fee Warnings Coming True in EU
We have often warned about the negative effects of interchange fee regulation and specifically a cap on interchange fees. Last year we warned the European Parliament that…
Blog
David Bowie, Financial Wizard
With the announcement today of the death of David Bowie, tributes from fellow artists and his millions of fans are pouring in. While it may…
Blog
UK Brewery Success Shows Lost Freedom in U.S.
On Tuesday evening, President Obama will give his final State of the Union address. In evaluating the state of the U.S., it’s useful to look…
Forbes
Let Small Businesses Fuel Job Growth Again
As 2015 has come to an end, the Federal Reserve has finally raised interest rates, but they will still remain near zero. Zero also approximates…
Blog
2015 – The Year of Equity Crowdfunding
As 2015 comes to a close, it’s time for year-end retrospectives, in which the past year is proclaimed the “year of” something. So in that…
Blog
Omnibus: No Financial Reg Relief, Dangerous GSE Provision, But a Little CFPB Sunshine
My Competitive Enterprise Institute colleagues and I have made the case for members of Congress to use the omnibus spending bill as an exercise…
The Wall Street Journal
Help the Small and Nimble Get a Start Going Public
Christopher Mims writes that letting ordinary Americans invest in the early stages of high-growth firms “has long been the dream” of equity crowdfunding advocates (“Startup…
Newsmax
New Obama Rule Could Gag Talk Radio
It is indeed sad that 40 percent of millennials favor the government banning speech that some deem offensive, according to a recent Pew poll. Even…
American Spectator
Will DOL’s ‘Fiduciary Rule’ Silence Dave Ramsey?
John Berlau writes on how the 'Fiduciary Rule' will regulate the speech of radio shows that give financial advice. It is indeed sad…
Blog
Will DOL’s “Fiduciary Rule” Silence Dave Ramsey?
It is indeed sad that 40 percent of millennials favor the government banning speech that some deem offensive, according to a recent Pew poll. Even…
Newsmax
CFPB’s Database Should Be Bipartisan Privacy Concern
Newsmax features an article by CEI's John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The behemoth Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) played a…
Blog
CFPB’s Database Should Be Bipartisan Privacy Concern
The behemoth Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) played a big role in Tuesday night’s GOP presidential debate on Fox Business, both during the commercials and…
Heartland
Lawmakers Hit Brakes On Proposed Fiduciary Broker Rules
Heartland Institute discusses the DOL's proposed fiduciary rule and mentions John Berlau and his comparison of the rule to Obamacare. “People will lose brokers…
Newsmax
We Need Protection From Fannie and Freddie
John Berlau, in his article for Newsmax, discusses the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the bill that will prevent their bail out.
Blog
Freddie Mac’s Loss Shows Need to Protect Taxpayers from GSE Raids
I wish baseball great Yogi Berra were still here—upon the release of Freddie Mac’s new quarterly report showing a sudden Q3 loss—so he could offer…
Blog
Equity Crowdfunding at Last, But Still Incomplete
More than three years after the JOBS Act was signed into law by President Obama, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today will finally vote…
TribLive
Stopping the Government’s Raid on Savings
TribLive interviews John Berlau on the Department of Labor's proposed "fiduciary rule," laying out the dangers of this proposed policy. The rule would…
Blog
CEI at Money20/20
I’m here on the Las Vegas Strip at Money20/20, a trade show and forum in the area of FinTech—a term used to describe a…
Blog
Onions Have No Futures
Lots of people object to markets in certain commodities. Kidneys, archeological relics, adoption rights, and a host of more prosaic items have been deemed by…
Newsmax
Govt Vies for Control Over Your Investment Decisions
John Berlau writes in Newsmax about the recent CEI headed coalition letter to Congress urging them to defund the DOL's "fiduciary rule." A…
Litigation
Challenging Dodd-Frank: State National Bank of Big Spring v. Mnuchin
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, the 60 Plus Association, and the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas brought a lawsuit in 2012 challenging the constitutionality…
The Hill
Overnight Finance: Path clears for Ryan; GOP backing off debt-limit bill
The Hill interviews John Berlau on CEI's recent coalition letter written to Congress urging them to defund the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule.
Blog
33 Groups Call on Congress to Defund Portfolio Attack by Labor Department
Today, a coalition letter signed by leaders of 33 leaders of free-market and conservative public policy organizations urges Congress to defund the Department of…
News Release
CEI-Led Coalition Asks Congress to Help Middle Class and Stop Labor Dept Fiduciary Rule
Thirty-three conservative and free-market groups, coordinated by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, sent a coalition letter today urging congressional leaders to defund the destructive “fiduciary rule”…
Daily Caller
The Bipartisan Push Back Against Obama’s Retirement Attack
The Daily Caller details CEI's recent coalition letter written to Congress detailing the restrictions the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule places on Americans and their…
Letters
Coalition Letter Urging Congressional Leaders to Defund the Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule”
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell: We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, represent millions of Americans…
Blog
Back to the Future in Payments Technology
One of the things Back to the Future Part II almost got right about 2015 was how Biff paid for his cab ride—with a thumbprint. A lot…
Daily Caller
Clinton Donor Lobbied State For Taxpayer-Backed Loans, Emails Reveal
The Daily Caller references Ryan Young's paper on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as it faced its charter expiration date this fall. The…
Daily Caller
Why Warren’s Witch-Hunt Won’t Work
CEI's expert John Berlau writes for The Daily Caller discussing Elizabeth Warren's desire for an increase in financial regulations. Elizabeth Warren “drew blood,”…
NewsMax
Elizabeth Warren Wants to Make Financial Decisions For You
John Berlau discusses Elizabeth Warren's pushes for excessive financial regulations in his piece published in News Max. Elizabeth Warren “drew blood,” writes Washington…
Blog
Warren Bullies Not Just Litan But Consumers
Elizabeth Warren “drew blood,” writes Washington Post reporter Tom Hamburger. “Elizabeth Warren Claims Another Scalp,” reads the headline of an excellent piece by John Fund at National Review…
Legal Brief
Amicus Brief: PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute, the 60 Plus Association, and the State National Bank of Big Spring filed…
Epoch Times
8 Reasons Congress Should End Taxpayer Support for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Epoch Times references CEI's Ryan Young for information on why Congress should allow the Overseas Private Investment Corporation's charter to expire. OPIC claims…
The Hill
A Simple Way to Grow America’s Economy and Create Jobs
Coauthored with Lindsay Lewis, executive director of the Progressive Policy Institute. It’s hard to find common ground between the two parties in Washington these days,…
The Daily Caller
OPIC Is The New Ex-Im: House GOP Could Split Again Over Crony Capitalism
The Daily Caller mentions Ryan Young’s report on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation: A recent report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)…
Blog
Transparency in Card Fees: Where Does the Argument Stop?
There are three ways banks that issue credit and debit cards can gain revenue from them: interest rates (in the case of credit cards) charged…
Study
Real Goals to Empower the Developing World
The United Nations is soon due to replace its ambitious Millennium Development Goals with a new set of far more extensive and even more ambitious…
Blog
Australian Reserve Bank Gets the Economics Wrong on Interchange Fees
A new report commissioned by the International Alliance for Electronic Payments, of which CEI is a member, finds that the Reserve Bank of Australia…
USA Today
Hillary Clinton’s Right on Smashing ‘Quarterly Capitalism’
“Quarterly capitalism” is a new focus of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign that could pick up even more steam with recent market turmoil. “It’s easy to…
News Release
Fiduciary rule set for Thursday House hearing
As the House Financial Services Committee hearing convenes Thursday on the Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule,” Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow John Berlau hopes committee…
Opportunity Lives
California’s Pension System is Headed Off a Cliff – Here’s How We Can Fix It
Here at Opportunity Lives, we’ve covered how Americans are hungry for news with a solutions bias. One bearer of such news is Lawrence J. McQuillan,…
Blog
CEI’s Coalition Letter to Prevent New Bailouts of Fannie and Freddie
As the Dodd-Frank “financial reform” celebrated its fifth anniversary this summer, just about every financial business—as well as many nonfinancial firms—have come under its thumb.
Letters
CEI Coalition Letter supporting H.R. 1673 to Prevent New Fannie-Freddie Bailouts
View the PDF Here Open Letter to the House and Senate: Protect Taxpayers from Another Fannie/Freddie Bailout – Enact the Enterprise…
Blog
Savers Oppose “Fiduciary Rule” Sold by Labor Department as “Protecting” Them
“A fundamental shift in Wall Street culture” is what the Department of Labor is aiming for with the “fiduciary rule.” That’s what DOL Deputy Assistant…
Blog
Dodd-Frank Act Strangles Small Banks
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act was enacted partly to end “too-big-to-fail” banks, but it has done quite the opposite. It has curbed competition with big banks…
The Freeman
Liquid Capital Was the First Killer App
The sharing economy is older than smartphone apps. The modern financial system may be the first example to have evolved. Rather than sharing capital assets…
Blog
CEI and Allies Submit Evidence to Australian Senate Inquiry on Credit Cards
Today, CEI and other members of the International Alliance for Electronic Payments joined the Australian Taxpayers Alliance in submitting evidence to an Australian Senate inquiry into credit…
