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 Chicago Tribune
Springfield’s interchange fee ban takes a costly swipe at Illinois consumers
I have many fond memories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, including eating out at Lou Malnati’s, visiting Chicago museums on weekends and tagging…
Blog
How the Bank Holding Company Act helped shape modern banking consolidation
Back in the 1950s, Congress feared a future in which a small number of powerful banking organizations would dominate the financial sector. Policymakers…
News Release
April PPI shows inflation still a major problem for the Fed and the economy: CEI analysis
The April Producer Price Index (PPI) shows a 1.4 percent jump, the largest increase since 2022. Inflation remains a stubborn issue for the Federal…
Search Posts
Op-Eds
Kagan and the Agency-Exhaustion Doctrine: A Response to Media Matters
Well, who’da thunk it? George W. Bush’s Justice Department is now considered a citadel of wisdom by the legal eagles at Media Matters for America.
Op-Eds
In Defending Kagan, Media Matters Embraces Bush Justice Department
Well, who woulda thunk it?! George W. Bush’s Justice Department is now considered a citadel of wisdom by the legal eagles at the liberal Media…
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Offshore Drilling and the Complexity of Obamacare
The House Financial Services Committee passes the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. Today the House of Representatives will vote on an energy…
Tulsa World
Credit reports used by insurance companies
Blog
Understanding the Health Care System
Check out this flow chart of what the health care system will look like once Obamacare is implemented.
Study
Who Should Pay for the Gulf Oil Spill?
Liability and Incentive Issues Raised by the Deepwater Horizon Incident…
Tulsa World
Elena Kagan’s War on Small Business
Solicitor General Kagan urged against letting a small firm challenge a regulatory agency in court. Would a Justice Kagan do the same? Now that Congress…
Newsletter
Big Labor’s Agenda, the Death of Cap and Trade and the Politics of ‘Mad Men’
Big Labor has been pushing hard to make Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren the new consumer protection czar. Besides the possibility of a lame-duck session, the…
Newsletter
Online Privacy, Food Safety and Unemployment Benefits
The Senate Commerce Committee prepares for a hearing on consumer online privacy. Environmental groups sue to compel the Food and Drug Administration to ban the…
Tulsa World
Financial Overhaul Just Another Case of Government Overreach
Blog
Hopes for Federal Property Insurance Expansion: Gone with the Wind
Insurance industry members are wiping there collective brow after a bill was pulled from the floor of the House of Representatives before a vote.
Tulsa World
Deal for Credit Firm Draws Fire for GM
Blog
The Nation’s Worst State Attorneys General
The nation’s worst state attorneys general abuse the power of their office for political ends, undermining the rule of law. In…
Blog
Richard Blumenthal Rated Second-Worst Attorney General in America
Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal has just been rated the second-worst state attorney general in America by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in its recent…
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, Financial Regulation and Toyotas and the Truth
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) mentions plans to pass a cap-and-trade bill in a post-election “lame duck” session if necessary. President Obama signs the Dodd-Frank financial…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Administration Opposes Adding Wind To NFIP As Vote Looms
Property and Casualty Insurance News
GM Agrees to Buy Lender AmeriCredit for $3.5 Billion
Newsletter
Elena Kagan’s Nomination, Obama Signs Financial Regulation Bill and Defending the Right to Work
The Senate Judiciary Committee approves the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today President Obama will sign recently-passed financial regulation bill into…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Obama’s Latest Monstrosity
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill that President Obama will sign today should not be called “financial reform.” Instead the bill, which…
Legal News Line
Michigan, SC Permits Insurers to Factor Credit Scores
Legal News Line
Have We Really Been Stimulated
The Lansing State Journal reported last week that the federal stimulus has been working. The White House projects the spending act created or saved between…
Blog
Earthquake Hits Washington, D.C. Area; Politicians Seek to Expand Bailouts and Subsidize Earthquake Insurance
A mild earthquake hit the Washington, D.C. area this morning at around 5 a.m. It broke a jar of grapefruit marmalade that fell…
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, the Gulf Oil Spill, and Privacy on Facebook
Congress passes the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill. The New York Times chronicles the economic fallout from the BP oil spill. Pundits argue that Facebook is…
Legal News Line
Financial Reform Bill: Bureaucratic Absolutism
Legal News Line
More Muscle for Big Merchants
It’s usually not that easy for big retail chains to win battles on Capitol Hill — particularly if they are trying to secure a benefit…
Legal News Line
Obama’s New Financial Regulation Bill Strangles America’s Economy with Red Tape
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill that passed the Senate 60-39 on Thursday and will be signed by President Obama next week should not…
Legal News Line
Who Won Big in the Financial Bill – More Muscle for Big Merchants
It’s usually not that easy for big retail chains to win battles on Capitol Hill — particularly if they are trying to secure a benefit…
Legal News Line
Dodd-Frank is not “Financial Reform,” it’s More Big Government Lunacy
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages and pages of…
News Release
Statement by John Berlau on Passage of Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Bill
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages…
Letters
Senate Should Reject Dodd-Frank
Full Document Available in PDF The so-called financial “reform” legislation, agreed to by House and Senate Democrats in Conference, and…
Letters
Double Taxation Working Group
Full Document Available in PDF We are writing to express our appreciation for your efforts to protect Americans from tax increases that…
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, Immigration and Climate Legislation
The Senate prepares to vote on a financial regulation bill. A Heritage Foundation report finds that deportation of undocumented immigrants has fallen during the Obama…
News Release
Privatize American Cities? Learning Lessons from Disney’s Experiment with “Private” Government
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2010 – Would governments do a better job of governing if some were privatized? A new case study by the Competitive…
Study
Florida’s Reedy Creek Improvement District
Could private government help fix Florida's property insurance system?…
Newsletter
Banning Pets, Vampire Attacks and Consumer Credit
The City of San Francisco proposes a ban on pet sales. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received some bizarre claims, including a woman’s…
News Release
Michigan Supreme Court Decision on Insurance Rates a Win for Consumers
The Supreme Court of Michigan this week reversed an initiative of Gov. Jennifer Granholm which would have barred insurance companies from considering the credit ratings…
Legal News Line
State Needs New Leadership on Insurance Policies
It’s sometimes hard to picture your insurance company as a caped hero sweeping in to rescue you in times of crisis. Yet, that is what…
Commonwealth Foundation
I&R Makes Way for Liquor Store Privatization in WA
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Leadership in Business vs. Politics and Corporate Accounting
The State of California is working to (partially) “legalize” online gambling. Former congressman Mickey Edwards writes on the qualities of…
Commonwealth Foundation
Court Ruling ‘Another Reason to Vote no on Dodd-Frank’
Commonwealth Foundation
Oversight law survives Supreme Court Battle
Commonwealth Foundation
Supreme Court’s SOX Decision May be Non-Event for IT
Commonwealth Foundation
Is Scott Brown a Game-Changer on the Financial Bill?
A Yogi-ism for Congress: “It ain’t over until both houses of Congress vote for an identical bill and send it to the president’s desk —…
Wall Street Journal
How I (Almost) Killed Sarbox
Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court Sarbanes-Oxley Decision
Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court SOX Ruling Has IT Implications
News Release
Supreme Court Strikes Down Key Sarbanes-Oxley Provisions
Nearly five years ago, CEI and accountant Brad Beckstead began to discuss mounting a constitutional challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley’s Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The…
Wall Street Journal
Is Scott Brown a Game-Changer on the Financial Bill?
A Yogi-ism for Congress: “It ain’t over until both houses of Congress vote for an identical bill and send it to the president’s desk…
CEI On Demand
Sam Kazman on Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB
General Counsel Sam Kazman discusses the far reaching implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Newsletter
Official Bedtimes, Stimulus Creep and Free Trade Agreements
Japan’s Environment Ministry is encouraging its citizens to go to bed an hour earlier at night, and get up an hour earlier in the morning.
News Release
Supreme Court Decision Spares America From Becoming International Magnet for Lawsuits
Washington, D.C., June 24, 2010 – The U.S. Supreme Court today saved this country from becoming a target-rich environment for international litigation, ruling against…
CEI On Demand
USA Today Cheers Proposed Financial Protection Agency
CEI On Demand
The Walgreen Amendment
In passing the financial regulation bill, U.S. Senators made a point of how they were going after the “fat cats” on Wall Street.
CEI On Demand
Stimulus Spending Has Done Little to Promote Growth (Letter to the Editor)
The stimulus package destroyed private-sector jobs, since it was financed by borrowing money from private citizens that would otherwise have been spent on private…
Newsletter
Oil Spill Assistance, Immigration Crackdown and Money for Nothing
The White House refused to allow foreign ships to assist with cleanup of the BP oil spill. Arizona’s immigration crack-down inspires a public referendum on…
News Release
Memo: Upcoming Supreme Court decision in Sarbanes-Oxley case
MEMO TO: Friends of CEI FROM: John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Entrepreneurs and Investors DATE: June 21, 2010 SUBJECT: …
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Orcs on Wall Street and the Chimera of Green Jobs
Congress continues to discuss a plan that would legalize online gambling in all fifty states. The government is on the prowl…
Newsletter
Financial Reform, Hurricane Season and Bank Fees
Congress continues negotiations on a major financial reform bill. Florida Governor Charlie Christ vetoes a bill that would have allowed Florida insurance companies to build…
CEI On Demand
Bad Idea: Congress Blocks Checking Overdraft Fees
Banks can afford to offer free checking accounts with no minimum balance, to responsible people, only because they can charge overdraft fees to irresponsible…
News Release
Center-Right Groups Protest Durbin ‘Interchange Fee’ Amendment Pushing Through Price Controls and Benefitting Big Retailers
Washington, D.C., June 17, 2010 – A coalition of 15 free-market and conservative groups are calling on Congress to reject credit and debit card…
Letters
No Place for Corporate Welfare in Financial Regulation
Full Document Available in PDF As leaders of groups representing millions of Americans that comprise a Center-Right Coalition, we oppose price controls in…
Letters
Coalition Letter Against Durbin Interchange Fee Price Control Amendment to Financial Reform Bill
Full Document Available in PDF As leaders of groups representing millions of Americans that comprise a Center-Right Coalition, we oppose price controls in…
Blog
FL property insurance: turning a blind eye is not reform
While deregulation is always a good thing, we shouldn’t be fooled into believing that the recent news that Florida’s office of insurance regulation has…
Comment
Upcoming Supreme Court Decisions in Sarbanes-Oxley Case
Full Document Available in PDF The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision soon in a major case involving…
CEI On Demand
Corporate Catfight Over Payment-Card Fees
Blog
AIG Bailout Had “Poisonous” Effect, Bailout Oversight Panel Says
“American International Group Inc.’s bailout had a ‘poisonous’ effect on the U.S. financial system because it demonstrated the government would protect Wall Street firms from…
Newsletter
Murkowski v. EPA, Big Labor and Debit Card Fees
The Senate will vote today on Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act. Arkansas…
CEI On Demand
Let Michigan Insurance Consumers Tailor Auto Coverage
Imagine you live in a town where anyone who dines out is required to buy a $200 bottle of champagne with their meal. That…
Newsletter
EPA’s Global Warming Plans, Debit Card Fees and Alcohol Energy Drinks
The Senate will vote this week on Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to block the EPA’s proposed global warming regulations. California State Senator Jenny Oropeza has introduced…
Newsletter
Ethanol, Amtrak and Auto Insurance
New global warming legislation contains subsidies for ethanol production. Amtrak, which loses money annually, is now embroiled in legal troubles. State governments take an increasingly…
CEI On Demand
Let Michigan Insurance Consumers Tailor Coverage
Imagine you live in a town where anyone who dines out is required to buy a $200 bottle of champagne with their meal. That…
Newsletter
BP, the Supreme Court on Corporate Accounting and Eliot Spitzer on CNN
Many are pointing to the BP oil spill as proof of the failure of free market capitalism. The Supreme Court is expected to soon hand…
CEI On Demand
Peekaboo! I See You…Acting Unconstitutionally
During the next two weeks, the Supreme Court will rule on a case that, if decided correctly, will bring relief to small businesses all…
CEI On Demand
Accounting Regulatory Failures
CEI On Demand
Fat Cats Feed on Durbin’s Fee Change
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin never tires of making a show of going after "fat cats," but a recent measure of his could better…
News Release
Supreme Court to Rule on Major Sarbanes-Oxley Case
Washington, D.C., June 3, 2010—The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hand down a major ruling which could put much-needed constitutional limits on an agency…
CEI On Demand
Obama’s Next Bailout Beneficiaries: Corrupt Union Pension Funds
The Obama administration and its congressional allies are now pushing for billions more in bailouts for mismanaged union pension funds, and teachers unions.
CEI On Demand
Fee Free Way to Protect Consumers
The U.S. Senate, in the name of protecting American consumers, passed last month a massive financial regulation bill that creates the Bureau of Consumer…
CEI On Demand
Senate Financial Bill Wrong for Main Street
The “Restoring American Financial Stability Act,” that passed Congress last week with 39 senators voting nay, will hurt Main Street investors and entrepreneurs, and worsen…
Newsletter
Union Bus Drivers, Fannie Mae Reform and Transportation Partnerships
In New York, bus drivers can take months of paid leave to recuperate from being spit on by passengers. The Obama…
CEI On Demand
Obama’s Secular Socialist Legacy
Newsletter
Global Warming Research, Financial Regulation and Transportation Projects
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is investigating the state-funded global warming research of a former University of Virginia professor to see if he defrauded taxpayers;…
CEI On Demand
Vitter Amendment
Newsletter
Campaign Finance, Politics at the Justice Department and John Stuart Mill
Democrats push campaign finance reform legislation. A Justice Department lawyer resigns in response to increased politicization of the department. Today is John Stuart Mill’s birthday.
CEI On Demand
Dodd Bank Bill: Brown Folds but Vitter’s Not-Everything’s-a-Bank Amendment Passes
Yesterday, Scott Brown caved, and the Senate passed its “financial reform.” That story is at the top of every news web site.
CEI On Demand
The Other Blumenthal Scandal
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, a Pay Cut for Congress and Kagan Missing in Action
The Senate rejects a move to cut off debate and further amendment on the financial regulation bill sponsored by Chris Dodd…
News Release
Failed Bank Bill Filled with Unintended Consequences for Main Street
Washington, D.C., May 19, 2010 – After the Senate today defeated a major banking regulation bill, CEI issued the following statement by John Berlau,…
CEI On Demand
Dodd’s Bank Bill: New Nationalization Powers for Fed, FDIC, and Treasury Secretary
There are many bad things contained in Chris Dodd’s "Restoring American Financial Stability Act," the financial regulatory "reform" bill that after filibustering for…
CEI On Demand
Dodd’s Bank Bill: New Nationalization Powers for Fed, FDIC, and Treasury Secretary
There are many bad things contained in Chris Dodd’s “Restoring American Financial Stability Act,” the financial regulatory “reform” bill…
Newsletter
Immigration Reform, SCOTUS and “Market Fundamentalism”
The New York Times reports that younger people are more likely to favor liberalized immigration policy than the baby boomer generation. The Supreme Court’s decision…
Newsletter
Drug Ads, Debit Card Fees and Labor Finances
The Food and Drug Administration moves to crack down on the advertising of prescription medicines for “off-label” uses. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) pushes for limits…
CEI On Demand
Dems Block Reform of Corrupt Mortgage Giants
In a party-line, 56-to-43 vote Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-backed mortgage giants…
CEI On Demand
Durbin’s Walgreens Amendment Shifts Costs to Consumers
Give Dick Durbin some credit for his chutzpah. It’s not every lawmaker who, in proposing an amendment to a financial reform bill ostensibly aimed…
Blog
ObamaCare Deeply Unpopular: Democratic Congressman Who Voted for Health Care Bill Loses Primary Election
ObamaCare is so unpopular in West Virginia that veteran Democratic Congressman Alan Mollohan lost reelection in yesterday’s Democratic primary to a state senator who…
News Release
Kerry-(Graham)-Lieberman Bill a Huge Payoff to Big Business
Washington, D.C., May 11, 2010—As Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) prepare to introduce their long-delayed energy-rationing legislation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute calls…
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, FCC’s “Future of Media” Project and Another Fannie Mae Bailout
Sen. Lindsey Graham withdraws his support for climate legislation co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman. The Federal Communications Commission is launching a “Future…
CEI On Demand
GM Deliberately Tried to Deceive Americans (Letter to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to criticize General Motors for falsely claiming in a recent TV ad campaign to have “repaid”—“in full”—what it received from…
Newsletter
GM’s Misleading Bailout Claims, Swine Flu and Financial “Reform” Legislation
General Motors boasts that it has repaid its government loans in full, despite having used other bailout funds to repay the initial loans. The government…
Newsletter
Greenhouse Gas Regulation, High-Speed Rail and Waiting on Crist in Florida
The 2006 Supreme Court verdict in Massachusetts v. EPA is cited as one of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens’ most influential. President Obama pushes for…
