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
Free Beacon
Fannie Motors
“It’s becoming Fannie Motors,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute finance scholar John Berlau, referring to the government-backed housing lender Fannie Mae. “They’re still using our tax…
Free Beacon
A Different Standard
Hans Bader, senior attorney and counsel for special projects at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which filed a brief in the St. Paul case, said…
Free Beacon
Eight States Join Challenge of Law That Regulates Financial Industry
The move comes more than four months after three other AGs joined the suit, which was originally filed in June by the State National Bank…
Free Beacon
Georgia joins lawsuit challenging Dodd-Frank
In addition to the community bank, original plaintiffs include the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association. Attorneys General from Michigan, Oklahoma, and South…
Legal Brief
Dodd-Frank Second Amended Complaint
News Release
Eight More States Join Constitutional Challenge to Dodd-Frank Act
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 13, 2013 – In an attempt to protect their pension funds, taxpayers and financial stability, the states of Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Montana,…
Free Beacon
Left-Wing Groups Shape Dodd Frank
“That these anti-capitalist agendas are influencing the CFPB is especially troubling, because the CFPB lacks any form of accountability to American voters through Congress,” John…
Letters
Letter to Congress on Nomination of Richard Cordray to the CFPB
CEI and the 60 Plus Association sent a letter urging Congress to take time to consider the re-nomination of Richard Cordray to the CFPB, in…
Free Beacon
Behind the Consumer Confidence Crash
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association are writing Congress “asking the Senate withhold the confirmation of [CFPB director nominee Richard] Cordray until…
Free Beacon
Groups ask Senate to withhold Cordray’s confirmation as CFPB director
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, along with a seniors advocacy group, has sent a letter to Congress asking the Senate to withhold Richard Cordray’s confirmation as…
Free Beacon
Value Destroyers Like Bernanke Fancy Themselves Magician Economists
Economics is not magic. Yet today, many prominent economists insist on pulling off an economic rabbit hat trick when they propose getting something for nothing.
Free Beacon
Plaintiffs from CFPB Suit Urge Cordray Confirmation Delay
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association are urging the Senate to delay confirmation of Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection…
News Release
Spending Cuts Caused Economy to Contract? How About Regulatory Cliff
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2013 — Today, the government reported the stunning news the U.S. economy actually contracted by .1 percent in the fourth quarter…
CBN
If the Economy Is Weak, Why are Stocks Going Up?
Bill Freeza, with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said he expects a tough economic year. "We're not going to see the kind of growth…
LA Times
Court rules Obama’s recess picks are illegal
"We think it's likely his recess appointment is going to meet the same fate," said Sam Kazman, general counsel of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a…
Townhall
Dodd-Frank is an Unconstitutional Disaster
That law, Dodd-Frank, is being challenged in State National Bank of Big Spring v. Geithner. The lead plaintiff is a community bank that has had…
Townhall
Not All Austerity Is Equal
Prominent economists, politicians, and pundits throw around the term “austerity” as if policies by…
News Release
Obama’s Financial Nominees Send Mixed Signals
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 24, 2013—Today, President Obama nominated two ex-prosecutors for key financial posts. But John Berlau, senior fellow for finance and access to…
Townhall
Why All The Green Pork In A Deal Meant To Avoid The Fiscal Cliff?
When President Obama’s autopen turned the fiscal cliff deal into law, Americans might have thought that the federal government had begun to walk down the…
Real Clear Politics
Obama Blinks: No Emperor’s New Coin
It looks like the American people have been cheated out of a precious teachable moment. Demonstrating their ability to think two moves ahead, something their…
Real Clear Politics
Something for Everybody (To Hate): Rep. Wilson’s Beach House Bailout
But the bill still has some degree of serious support. In 2007, a version actually passed the House of Representatives 286-155 with co-sponsors that included…
Financial Post
Avoiding the ‘Basel cliff’
John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington has called the global bank rules the “Basel cliff” that could decimate many U.S. banks. Banks…
News Release
Eurocrats Delay “Basel III” Albatross on U.S. Banks
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 8, 2013 – Over the weekend, a committee of international regulators and central bankers decided to slightly revise and delay the…
New York Times
Easing of Rules for Banks Acknowledges Reality
“If Basel had been implemented this year as written, it almost certainly would have thrown the U.S. and other economies into a recession more than…
Forbes
Fiscal Justice Trumps Fiscal Sanity, Progressivism Marches On
In his first New Year’s Eve address since taking office, French President François Hollande—progressive poster boy and role model for class warriors the world over—defended his…
Forbes
Happy New Year? Fiscal Cliff, Meet The Costberg
How the largest government on earth plans to expand our liberties in the new year of 2013 by forcing “the rich” to pay somebody’s idea…
News Release
Taxpayers Get Terrible Deal on GM Stock
Washington, D.C. – December 20, 2012 – John Berlau, Senior Fellow for Finance and Access to Capital, had the following to say about the…
CNN
Safety net for business bank accounts at risk
John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, argues ending the TAG program is in the nation's best interest. He said the usefulness…
News Release
TAG Bank Bailout Fails in Senate, Taxpayers Win
Washington, D.C. – December 13, 2012 – On behalf of taxpayers and future generations burdened by the nation’s debt, the Competitive Enterprise Institute rejoices at…
Human Events
The Return of Gunboat Diplomacy
Co-authored with Riley Walters. Last September, China deployed six surveillance ships in response to the Japanese government’s attempt to buy the disputed Senkaku islands,…
Letters
Free-Market Coalition Letter Against TAG’s Unlimited Deposit Insurance
As the Senate prepares today to vote on extending unlimited deposit insurance for non-interest bank accounts, 14 leaders and scholars of conservative and free-market groups signed a…
Huffington Post
Transatlantic Free Trade Must Be Done Right
There's a buzz, says Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, in both Berlin and D.C. these days, for free trade as a potential path back to…
News Release
Coalition Tags TAG Bailout as Regressive and Economically Disastrous
Washington, DC, December 10, 2012 – As the Senate prepares today to vote on extending unlimited deposit insurance for non-interest bank accounts, 14 leaders and scholars…
National Review
Do as Reagan Did, And Free Credit Unions
In their post-mortem on the election, National Review’s editors stressed the need to “make the case that conservative policies would make the broad mass of…
Forbes
A Tax Both Ayn Rand And Ralph Nader Could Love
Here is a puzzler worth pondering as Congress scrambles to find enough tax revenue to feed its insatiable appetite for spending. Can you come up…
Letters
Coalition Letter on the Fiscal Cliff and the Taxpayer Protection Pledge
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Republican Members of Congress, We, the undersigned organizations, who represent millions of Americans dedicated to fiscal…
Forbes
Grover Norquist’s Gnomes Duke It Out With The Tax Fairness Fairy
No one seriously believes that federal spending is going to be brought under control any time soon. Regardless of what deals are cut during the…
Appeal Democrat
Taking money off the table
The range of higher taxes looming Jan. 1 as part of the "fiscal cliff" are not the only blow the economy could suffer, John Berlau…
Appeal Democrat
Opportunity And Wealth Remain In America, Not Europe
The presidential election proved Americans have embraced European-style social democracy and that ObamaCare is but the first chapter in a new era of big government.
Legal Brief
Dodd Frank Challenge – Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
Full Document Available in PDF This lawsuit cobbles together an array of disparate challenges to the constitutionality of three titles of an…
Daily Caller
‘Basel cliff’ looms for community banks
As if the “fiscal cliff” were not enough, banks of all sizes — and in turn the consumers and businesses that rely on their credit…
Blog
The Hostess Bankruptcy And The Threat Of A PBGC Bailout
On Friday, November 16, Hostess Brands announced it was shutting down operations after the Bakers, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), which rejected…
Letters
Coalition Letter on Unintended Consequences of Basel III
Full Document Available in PDF The undersigned organizations, institutions and nonprofits interested in fostering entrepreneurship represent hundreds of thousands businesses, small and…
Trib Live
Chrysler, Fiat deal backfires
John Berlau is the senior fellow for finance and access to capital in the Center for Economic Freedom at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington,…
NJ
Repeal of Durbin Amendment would protect consumers from annual credit card fees
A year ago, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Consumer Protection Act’s Durbin Amendment price controls went into effect, causing consumers to lose free checking and be…
Blog
Sandy Beaches, Meet Hurricane Sandy
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many reminisce of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. With at least a dozen East Coast states in a declared state of…
The American Spectator
Dodd-Frank’s Mystery SIFI Theater
Following the financial crisis, there was a desire to protect the nation against banks becoming so large that their failure would threaten the entire financial…
Daily Caller
The Real Fiat Scandal
Cowritten by Mark Beatty. The real outrage arising from the 2009 Chrysler bailout is not that its parent company, Fiat, is planning to build…
Forbes
Paul Krugman’s Stimulus Batters The East Coast, Fueling Economic Growth
Mainstream economists, corporate executives, politicians, and pundits are still totaling up the windfall boost to the nation’s GDP, but most agree that the benefits from…
Forbes
Markets of Government: Whom Do You Trust?
Free-market advocates have the deck stacked against them in the marketplace of ideas (ironically) for a very simple reason: Markets are impersonal, intangible things, whereas…
Forbes
European Politics Increasingly Resemble Halloween
Politics in Europe is beginning to resemble Halloween. Trick-or-treaters like Greece and Spain come to the doorstep of Germany and the European Union for bailout…
Forbes
President Obama Reverses Course, For Now, and We’re Better Off For It
“We’ve come too far to turn back now.” That’s been President Obama’s response, in his weekly address and elsewhere, to the jobs numbers from last…
Forbes
Distorted Government Statistics Endanger Our Economic Health
What is the real inflation rate, calculated using an accurate technique that doesn’t change with time? What is the real unemployment rate, one that counts…
Politico
Dems Opposing Dodd Frank
Competitive Enterprise Institute’s John Berlau in National Review: “[E]ven members of the president’s own party are coming to realize Dodd-Frank is actually too tough on…
Letters
Letter Opposing Misnamed ‘Taxpayer Protection Act’: Another Beach House Bailout
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the millions of citizens represented by the undersigned groups, we write in strong opposition…
National Review
More Democrats Diss Dodd-Frank
‘For some reason, some Republicans in Congress are still waging an all-out battle to delay, defund, and dismantle these commonsense new rules.” That was, in…
Bio-IT World
Can Private Jets For The Poor Save Health Care Dollars?
Few perks of wealth are more widely demonized than the private jet. Yet these very symbols of power and luxury could save health care dollars…
Forbes
Hey Romney, Here’s A Comeback To Obama’s $5 Trillion Tax Cut Canard
Framing a debate is half of winning it—especially when neither facts nor reason are on your side. The Obama campaign’s repeated claims that, if elected…
Forbes
Letter to the Editor: The Fed Helps Wall Street at the Expense of Main Street
Mr. Bernanke’s description of QE3 as a “‘Main Street’ policy” is incorrect. The Fed distributes its newly created money by…
News Release
Jobs Report Doesn’t Tell Full Story
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 5, 2012 – Unemployment fell below 8 percent for the first time in four years last month, according to the September…
Forbes
Jobless youth – southern Europe’s ticking time bomb
BRUSSELS – As Europe hangs on every public statement about the possibility of more bailouts from the European Central Bank or German Chancellor Angela Merkel,…
News Release
Durbin Bank Fees: An Unhappy One-Year Anniversary
Washington, D.C., October 2, 2012 – One year ago this month, the Durbin Amendment debit card price controls from the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law went…
The American Spectator
Happy Durbin Day
On Oct. 1, 2011, one year ago today, Dodd-Frank's Durbin Amendment price controls went into effect, causing consumers to lose free checking and be soaked…
News Release
Report on Spanish Banks Underestimates Cost of Potential Bailout
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1, 2012 — A report last week said Spain’s banks could require as much as 53.74 billion euro in bailout funds,…
The American Spectator
Study blasts federal economic development initiatives
From Brian Pederson’s article in Lehigh Valley Business: A new study blasts the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) and calls for its abolishment,…
The American Spectator
The Federal Department of More Spending and Higher Local Taxes
“We believe in the free enterprise system,” President Obama said at a recent campaign stop. “But we also believe we’ve got obligations to one another.”…
Legal Brief
Dodd-Frank Challenge – Amended Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF…
News Release
Three States Join Constitutional Challenge to Dodd-Frank
Washington, D.C., September 20, 2012 – The states of Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Michigan today joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Dodd-Frank Wall…
Study
The Case for Abolishing the Economic Development Administration
EDA investments do little more than shift resources from one area of the country or the economy to another. EDA’s funding should be immediately revoked,…
News Release
New Study Makes Case Against Economic Development Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 18, 2012 — It is the mission of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) “to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting…
Fox News
To Save Obama, Clinton Ignores his Own Deregulation Moves
MacKenzie: “Did you know it was Bill Clinton who repealed Glass-Steagall?” Will: “Everybody knows that.” Conversation on HBO’s “The Newsroom,” originally broadcast July 22, 2012…
Fox News
Why Liberals Should Love Low Taxes
You can say two things for certain about modern liberals — they love spending government (read: your) money, and they hate the wealthy. Which makes…
Wall Street Journal
Letter to the Editor: Yet Another Dodd-Frank Albatross
Jack Gerard is spot on in pointing out that Dodd-Frank's Section 1504, requiring lengthy disclosures of payments by U.S. energy firms to foreign governments, will…
Investor's Business Daily
Capitalism’s Record Of Success Beats The Government Option
From Steve Stanek's article in Investor's Business Daily: John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has noted the government's claimed number of "jobs…
Fox News
Taxpayer losses tied to auto bailout rise
From Doug McKelway's article on Fox News: John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute argues the stock decline reflects the liability of the…
Forbes
As Liberty Fades, Contemplate The Wisdom Of The Olive Tree
It’s easy to despair watching the flame of liberty flicker and die. To accept the sad fact that our Founders’ vision of limited government could…
Letters
Coalition Letter to the U.S. Senate on Tax Competition
Full Document Available in PDF CEI co-signed a coalition letter to the U.S. Senate urging support for Senator Rubio’s S.J.Res. 46, which…
Forbes
Angela Merkel’s Bismarckian Euro Diplomacy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to be channeling her 19th century predecessor, Otto von Bismarck, in a striking way; engineering a diplomatic balancing act…
Forbes
Obama’s Jobs Council a Total Flop
When President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness last gathered in January, he boasted, “This has not been a show council. This has been…
Study
The Marketplace Fairness Act Would Create a State Sales Tax Cartel and Hurt Consumers
The Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 1832) seeks to capture more tax revenue for states on Internet purchases. Traditional retailers, states, and localities have urged Congress…
Daily Mail
America’s Real Choice: Cronyism or Capitalism
America appears to be at war with itself, if the Presidential campaign is anything to go by. The adverts that have saturated the airwaves over…
National Review
Sandy Weill’s About-Face on Glass-Steagall
Isn’t it something how a former Wall Street baron named as one of Time magazine’s “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis” suddenly becomes…
News Release
CEI Fellow Testifies On Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank “Unhappy” Anniversaries
Washington, D.C., July 27, 2012 – As two purported financial “reform” laws mark their anniversaries this July, CEI’s John Berlau testified two times this week…
Comment
Testimony on The 10th Anniversary of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act
John Berlau testifies July 26, 2012 before a House Financial Services subcommittee on the topic of the 10th anniversary of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Comment
Testimony on Examining Consumer Credit Access Concerns, New Products and Federal Regulations
CEI’s John Berlau testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Berlau explains why reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers will increase competition for…
News Release
Farm Bill Boondoggle Won’t Cure Drought, Coalition Tells Boehner
Washington, D.C., July 24, 2012 – Twelve government watchdog groups, including CEI, sent House Speaker John Boehner a letter this morning urging him to hold…
Comment
Testimony on “The Marketplace Equity Act of 2011”
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit public policy research organization dedicated to advancing individual liberty…
News Release
CEI Urges Congress to Reject Internet Tax Bill
Washington, D.C., July 23, 2012 – Congress should reject legislation to increase taxes collected on Internet and mail order remote sales, argues the Competitive Enterprise…
Forbes
You’re Wrong President Obama, Howard Johnson Built His Business
Over the weekend, President Obama sent a message to all American entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs. The message was, “Nothing special about you!” At a campaign…
Marietta Daily Journal
Strikes for swipes: Study finds debit-card fee cap could hurt economic recovery
From Michael J. Pallerino's article in The Marietta Daily Journal: “Banks can only shift so much of the costs to consumers,” said John…
The American Spectator
Obama v. Job Creation
From Doug Bandow's op-ed in The American Spectator: Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has produced the latest edition of his…
Real Clear Markets
The Lean Forward Campaign: A Recipe for Economic Stagnation
It's hard to miss the MSNBC motto's comfy similarity to President Obama's reelection slogan. Widely mocked since its debut, the "Lean Forward" campaign celebrates the…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Price Controls Put Barriers to Jobs, Economic Growth
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2012 – Today’s weaker-than expected jobs numbers highlight the role overregulation plays in hampering job growth. As the Dodd-Frank law, which…
Douglas County Sentinel
Federal Regulations Hurting Georgia and Local Banks
From Haisten Willis' article in The Douglas County Sentinel: Economist John Berlau, Senior Fellow for Finance and Access to Capital at the Competitive…
Blog
Supreme Court Concocts New “Rational (Tax) Basis” Test in Upholding Health Law
In a move that seems to have surprised many observers, the Supreme Court today upheld nearly all of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act…
Blog
Quick Thoughts on the Health Care Ruling
The Supreme Court upheld the health care bill, as you've no doubt heard by now. Over at the Daily Caller, I offer a few quick…
Study
Government Barriers to Georgia’s Growth
Full Document Available in PDF Few states have been hit as hard by the financial…
Legal Brief
State National Bank of Big Spring et al. v. Geithner et al.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association join the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, in their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Unconstitutional Power-Grab, Says New Lawsuit
Full Document Available in PDF WASHINGTON, D.C., June 21, 2012 – The State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, today filed a lawsuit asking…
Douglas County Sentinel
Dimon on Display
Normally, government should not concern itself with a business’ operations, but when taxpayer money and the public welfare are at risk, it has a responsibility…
