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
Newsletter
Re-importing Drugs, TARP for Small Business and Palin on ClimateGate
The Senate health care debate stalls on the question of whether to permit the re-importation of drugs from countries with price controls. President Obama announces…
Op-Eds
Rebuttal: Michigan’s Auto Insurers Make Only a Small Profit
About the Nov. 30 article "Industry balks at bills aimed at auto insurance reform": Before we listen to politicians who claim greedy…
Study
Congressional Misdiagnosis
Why Repealing McCarran-Ferguson Will Harm Competition in Health Insurance Markets…
Public Radio
Did Deregulation Cause the Recession?
Public Radio
Did Deregulation Cause the Great Recession?
In a December 3 article in Politico ("J-O-Bs should come before GDP"), Rep. Phil Hare argues that "reckless deregulation" is one of the causes…
Newsletter
Sarbanes-Oxley in Court, Swine Flu Peaks and Trade Deficits in Perspective
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments challenging the legitimacy of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accounting law. Swine flu infections have peaked and are declining, according to…
Wall Street Journal
The Supreme Case Against Sarbanes-Oxley
Overlawyered
FDA Raw Oyster Ban
Newsletter
Credit Card Fees, Immigration Reform and Heading off an EPA Power Grab
The U.S. looks to Australia’s experience with regulating credit cards fees. Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs softens his longtime anti-immigration stance. Environmental groups petition the…
The Wall Street Journal
Sarbanes-Oxley on Trial
Congress wants to wallop business with even more regulation in the wake of the financial panic, but perhaps the Members should pause on Monday and…
The Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court Set to Review Scope of Peek-a-boo Power
The Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court Set to Review Scope of Peek-a-boo Power
News Release
Supreme Court To Hear Pivotal Sarbanes-Oxley Case Monday, Dec.7
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2009—On Monday, December 7th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a…
Study
Payment Card Networks Under Assault
How Capping Interchange Fees Will Hurt Consumers, Charities, Community Banks, and Credit Unions…
Southern Shift News
30 Million Small Businesses: The Army President Obama has yet to Deploy
Letters
Federal Reserve Transparency Working Group Sends Letter to the Senate
Dear Members of the U.S. Senate: In the last two years, the Federal Reserve Board has lent several trillion dollars to banks…
Blog
“Would ObamaCare Reduce Innovation?”: Health Care Bill Would Cause Preventable Deaths
“Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?” That’s the question posed by health care expert Michael Cannon. His answer is yes: “President Obama’s…
Newsletter
Senate Health Care, Rising Deficits and Food Safety on Thanksgiving
The Senate advances prepares for a floor debate on health care legislation after Thanksgiving. The rising federal budget deficit and national debt raise concerns about…
Blog
Moderates Criticize Health Care Bill As It Advances in Senate; Experts Gave Bill A “Failing Grade”
On Saturday, the Senate voted 60-to-39, along party lines, to press towards passage of a massive health care bill, by blocking a…
Southern Shift News
Effort To Curb Financial Giants May Worry Markets Even More
Southern Shift News
Effort To Curb Financial Giants May Worry Markets Even More
Blog
Healthcare Bill Advances in Senate, Despite Receiving Failing Grade from Health Experts; Democrats Block Filibuster in Party-Line Vote
The healthcare bill is on the verge of passing the Senate, despite the fact that it has received a failing grade from healthcare experts like…
Newsletter
FDA’s Tobacco Powers, Credit Card Fees and Cult-like Union Behavior
Anti-tobacco activists observe the “Great American Smokeout.” The Government Accountability Office finds that controlling credit card processing fees could hurt consumers. Union officials are accused…
Blog
Reid Health Care Bill Adds New Tax Increases, Costs Twice As Much As Promised
The health care “reform” bill drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid adds new tax increases, and costs twice as much as its…
News Release
Government Watchdog Finds Credit Card Price Controls Hurt Consumers
Today, the Government Accountability Office released its widely anticipated report on interchange fees—the fees that retailers pay to credit and debit card issuers for processing…
Blog
Harvard Medical School Dean Gives ObamaCare a “Failing Grade”
"In discussions with dozens of health-care leaders and economists, I find near unanimity of opinion that the final legislation that will emerge from Congress will…
Newsletter
Bailout Transparency, Climate Politics and Mortgage Foreclosures
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduces a bill to make public details of the bank bailout. Critics accuse President Obama of failing the world on climate change.
Blog
Health-Care “Reform” Bills Increase Costs, Endanger Access for Millions, Federal Experts Say
The healthcare “reform” bill backed by Obama “would reduce senior care,” and “could jeopardize access to care for millions,” report healthcare…
Blog
Insurance Industry Stung By Health Care Deal
The CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal whining that a weak individual purchase mandate is…
Blog
Unemployment Skyrockets: “U.S. now beating European unemployment rates”
Unemployment is now higher in the U.S. than in Europe, reports the Washington Post. “The official U.S. unemployment rate, reported last Friday, now stands…
Blog
House Passes Massive Health Care Bill
Just before midnight on Saturday, the House of Representatives passed a massive, 2000-page health care “reform” bill by a 220 to 215 vote. The bill,…
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, Sarbanes-Oxley and Anti-Cat Regulations
Senate Democrats win committee approval of a “cap-and-trade” bill to reduce U.S. greenhouse gases over the objection of Republicans. The House Financial Services Committee voted…
News Release
U.S. Chamber Caves to Special Interests on Energy-Rationing Legislation
Washington, DC, November 4, 2009—The Competitive Enterprise Institute responded today to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s announcement that it will now support energy-rationing legislation by…
News Release
CEI Praises Obama and House Members For Pushing Sarbanes-Oxley Small Business Exemption
CEI Praises Obama and House Members For Pushing Sarbanes-Oxley Small Business Exemption Statement of John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs…
Blog
Obama One Year Later — A Legacy of Lies and Broken Promises
It’s been a year since the president was elected, and he’s already piled up an impressive list of lies and broken promises. The broken promises…
Blog
ObamaCare Blueprint Called ‘The Worst Bill Ever’: It Drives Up Taxes, Insurance Premiums, State and Federal Deficits, and Legal Bills
The Wall Street Journal calls the House version of President Obama’s health care plan “the worst bill ever,” noting that it…
Southern Shift News
1 Year Later-Obama’s Legacy of Lies and Broken Promises
It’s been a year since the president was elected, and he’s already piled up an impressive list of lies and broken promises.
Southern Shift News
Wall Street Journal: House Health Care Plan “Worst Bill Ever”
The Wall Street Journal calls the House version of President Obama’s health care plan “the worst bill ever,” noting that it will lead to…
Southern Shift News
Premiums to Skyrocket Under ObamaCare
Letters
Coalition Letter to Frank and Bachus Regarding Federal Insurance Reform
Full Letter Available in PDF Today, you’ll consider a manager’s amendment that would change the scope and reach of H.R. 2609, The Federal…
Newsletter
Pay Cuts for Wall Street, Required Window Glazing and the New Public Option
The White House “pay czar” plans to cut paychecks for top bank executives by 50%. Environmental regulators in California move to require all cars sold…
Blog
“Public Option” Is a Gimmick That Won’t Improve Healthcare
In the Washington Post, Robert J. Samuelson explains in the “Public Plan Mirage” how the so-called “public option” contained in congressional health-care reform bills…
Newsletter
Web Giants Battle over Networks, Obama on Climate and New Financial Regulations
Google and AT&T battle over web rules. President Obama won’t talk climate change at UN negotiations in Copenhagen. The House Financial Services Committee votes to…
Newsletter
Health Care Competition, Financial Regulations in Court and Net Neutrality
The House Judiciary Committee votes to strip antitrust protections from health insurance companies who share risk information. Prominent officials and scholars endorse CEI’s Supreme Court…
Blog
A Cure Worse than the Disease
As I explain in a new CEI paper, which is out today, most of the alleged cost-cutting measures in the Baucus bill merely shift costs…
Blog
Health Insurer Competition and Democratic Saber Rattling
Last week, after the industry association America’s Health Insurance Plans released a study showing that premiums would rise 18 percent under the Senate Finance Committee’s…
News Release
Prominent Officials, Scholars Endorse CEI’s Supreme Court Challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley Accounting Board
Prominent Officials, Scholars Endorse CEI’s Supreme Court Challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley Accounting Board CEI Case Gains Bipartisan Support from Attorneys General, Former…
Letters
Coalition Letter to President
Full Document in PDF We represent a diverse group of environmental, taxpayer, and consumer interests. We've seen the letter that Rep. Gene Taylor…
Southern Shift News
Obamacare May Be Unconstitutional
Blog
New Version of Obama Health-Care Plan Relies on Imaginary Savings, Costs More Than $2 Trillion, and Will Explode Federal and State Budget Deficits
Health-care “reform” always costs more than predicted, as ObamaCare provisions have at the state level. So the claim that the new, cheaper version…
Newsletter
Health Care, Climate Change and Nobel Economics
The Senate Finance Committee approves major new health care legislation. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) write an op-ed for the New York…
Newsletter
Climate Negotiations, Senate Health Care and the Nobel Prize
Climate negotiators attempt to reach an agreement ahead of UN-sponsored talks in December. The Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote on health…
Blog
Markets vs. Special Interests
"It is precisely the fact that the market does not respect vested interests that makes the people concerned ask for government interference."…
Southern Shift News
Catastrophe Fund: Florida System Dangerously Unstable
As September passed by, much of the news here in Florida appears good: Hurricanes have stayed away from U.S. coastlines, the Legislature has passed…
Southern Shift News
Don’t Drive Away Auto Insurers
In recent weeks, political leaders have vented their anger at Michigan’s auto insurers. State Sen. Martha Scott held a rally at the capital in…
Newsletter
Retail Prices, Utility Politics and Swine Flu
The Maryland legislature bans manufacturers from setting minimum retail prices for their products. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist plays hardball with the state’s public utilities. Doctors…
Letters
Letter to RiskMetrics Group
My name is Eli Lehrer and I’m Director of the Center for Risk, Regulation, and Markets at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. As an organization,…
Southern Shift News
The Mania of Central Planning
Lansing, Mich. Coleman Young II is on a roll. Standing outside of the Michigan legislature’s baronial house chamber, the young politician, scion of…
Newsletter
A Swine Flu Vaccine, Rising Unemployment and Limits on Executive Pay
The federal government launches a swine flu vaccine campaign. Alan Greenspan predicts increased economic growth, but also rising unemployment. The White House moves to limit…
Southern Shift News
Crist Lauds Insurance Reform’s Results
Newsletter
Questionable Stimulus, EPA on CO2 and Underfunded Union Pensions
Experts question the economic wisdom of government stimulus spending. Critics of the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions point out the cost…
News Release
Unemployment Report, Real Solutions
Today's unemployment report showed the U.S. jobless rate reaching 9.8 percent, the highest since 1983. And although unemployment is referred to as a "lagging indicator"…
Newsletter
Credit Card Fees, Nike Resigns and EU Chemical Policy
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven lobbies for restrictions on credit card processing fees. Nike resigns from the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest…
Southern Shift News
Don’t Let 7-11 Give Card Users a “Big Gulp” of Big Govt
If Congress acts on 7-Eleven's misleading petition to put price controls on interchange fees, consumers will pay the price through the reduction of credit card…
Southern Shift News
As Deficit Rises, So Too Does Number of Federal Employees
Thanks to the $800 billion stimulus package, and other huge government spending increases, the number of federal and state employees is projected to increase…
Newsletter
Probing Treasury, Car-Free Conflicts and a Quiet Hurricane Season
Controversy continues to swirl around Treasury Department documents estimating the costs of cap and trade regulation. Observance of World Car-Free Day yields conflicting opinions about…
News Release
Don’t Let 7-Eleven Give Card Holders a “Big Gulp” of Big Government
On Wednesday, 7-Eleven Inc. and other big retail chains will call on Congress to slap price controls on the interchange fees they pay to banks…
Southern Shift News
Conference Planned
Southern Shift News
Floridians Still On Hook to Pay for Hurricane Destruction
Even if Florida avoids catastrophe during the 2009 hurricane season, the state’s system for insuring itself against storms will remain dangerously unstable.
Southern Shift News
Make Florida More Hurricane-Resistant
As hurricane-ridden September passes by, much of the news in Florida appears good: Hurricanes, so far, have stayed away from U.S. coastlines, the Legislature…
Washington Times
Solutions: How to Reduce Unemployment
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke recently said the recession is probably over, as third-quarter growth in gross domestic product will likely be positive. But…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, Insurance Reform and Another ACORN Scandal
Senate Republicans abandon an attempt to stop the FCC’s proposed net neutrality regulations. New Orleans braces for the arrival of “Out of the Storm 09:…
Washington Times
New Orleans Conference to Address Coastal Insurance Issues
Blog
Big Health and Energy Tax Increases for the Middle Class from Obama and Liberal Congressmen
Even the trimmed-down version of Obama's health-care plan recently announced by a ranking Senator contains lots of tax increases for the middle class.
Washington Times
Ex-Massachusetts Commissioner Praised for Auto Deregulation Efforts
Washington Times
Subprime Mortgage Catastrophe
Newsletter
Obama on Wall Street, EPA Backlash and Health Care Roadblocks
President Obama gives a major speech in New York on the future of Wall Street. The Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to censor data on global…
News Release
One Year After Wall Street Meltdown, Obama Targets Main Street
One Year After Wall Street Meltdown, Obama Targets Main Street Statement by John Berlau of CEI Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs Washington, D.C., September…
Washington Times
The Meltdown Next Time
When the insurance giant American International Group was threatened with collapse in late 2008, its credit default swap business and other international operations were…
Newsletter
Intel’s Human Rights, Overdraft Fees and Insurance Deregulation
Intel argues that a recent $1.45 billion fine levied by European antitrust regulators amounts to a violation of the firm’s “human rights.” Banking industry critics…
News Release
CEI Comments on Resignation of Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Burnes
A Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, commented today on the announcement that Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes would…
Letters
CEI to Florida Legislature: Despite Politicians’ Claims, Insurers Continue to Flee the State
Dear Senator, Attached you will find five editorials that have been published in recent weeks by newspapers around the state. These editorials were…
Study
Restoring the Private Property-Insurance Market to Reduce Florida’s Risk of Financial Insolvency
Full Document Available in PDF Foreward by Robert F. Sanchez, Policy Director, The James Madison Institute As Florida faces a…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: July – August 2009
The July-August 2009 issue of the CEI Planet features coverage of CEI’s 25th Anniversary Gala, and articles on federal catastrophe insurance and TARP transparency.
News Release
Berlau in New York Times on Overdraft Fees from Debit Cards – with Misleading Headline
John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was a guest contributor this week to the New York…
RealClear Markets
Does Intel Have Human Rights?
Intel's battle for the ages against the European Commission's antitrust regulators has a surprising new twist: Intel is claiming that its human rights were violated.
RealClear Markets
The AIG Effect: AIG Aftermath Spurs State Regulators to Modernize
RealClear Markets
The BofA Bonus Show
Newsletter
Labor Lobbying, India’s Greenhouse Gases and Honduras’ Financial Struggle
Labor unions gear up to lobby for the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act,” which could impose binding federal arbitration in union disputes. India’s emissions of…
RealClear Markets
Coastal Insurance Reforms a Good Start
When he took office at the beginning the year, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin set his sights on North Carolina’s broken coastal insurance system. Now…
Blog
Matt Taibbi versus Sensible Health Care
In a blog post at Rolling Stone, Journalist In Name Only Matt Taibbi accuses the media of “help[ing] sandbag health care reform.” In the…
Newsletter
EPA’s Illegal Rule, Junk Food Lawsuits and Hurricane Preparedness
The Environmental Protection Agency moves to limit greenhouse gas restrictions to only large industrial sources. Anti-obesity campaigners agitate for taxes and legal restrictions on foods…
Newsletter
A Doctor Shortage, Cap and Trade in the Senate and TARP Transparency
The American Medical Association lobbies Congress to restrict the number of new doctors in the U.S. Senate sponsors of “cap and trade” global warming legislation…
RealClear Markets
CEI’s Lehrer Writes Congress to Support Increased CU Biz Lending
News Release
CEI Reacts to ‘Florida Preparedness Month’
Letters
Let Credit Unions Lend to Small Businesses
Full Letter Available in Word Today’s difficult economic situation stems, in large part, from a shortage of credit. Banks, thrifts and other…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity, Consumer Snitching and an Insurance Downgrade
A new bill to would give the White House “cybersecurity emergency” powers. Consumer Reports magazine turns a high-performing showerhead over to the EPA for exceeding…
News Release
CEI Responds to Tower Hill Rating Downgrade
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, reacted to A.M. Best’s rating downgrade of Tower Hill Insurance Companies and Tower Hills’ subsequent decision…
RealClear Markets
Obama Keeps Lying About Health Care, Even After Being Caught
You just can’t trust President Obama’s claims about his health-care plan. He keeps on lying even after he is caught lying and his lies…
Newsletter
Wireless Probe, Nanotechnology Funding and Ted Kennedy, RIP
The Federal Communications Commission launches a three-part investigation into competition in the wireless industry. The National Science Foundation dispenses new grants for nanotechnology research in…
