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
Wall Street Journal
Why Stop at Dodd-Frank? Some Want Trump’s Regulatory Overhaul to Go Further
The Wall Street Journal discusses revamping a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with John Berlau. The fight over the rule has been…
Blog
Five Regulatory Heartbreaks on Valentine’s Day
Tomorrow we celebrate our significant other by showering them with affection and chocolate—but is government regulation getting in the way of your date night?…
USA Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could see wings clipped
USA Today discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Director Richard Cordray with John Berlau. It has been all over the board. Critics hope…
Blog
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Tries to Silence Fiduciary Rule Critics
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has frequently resorted to intimidation to effectively silence those with views which she disagrees. This is particularly true for critics of the…
Blog
Deregulate to Speed Recovery from ‘Creative Destruction’ of Trade and Innovation
Government regulation limits the ability of individuals and businesses to recover from normal economic setbacks.
Blog
Financial Regulation Executive Order a Step in the Right Direction
A new White House executive order aims to redesign how financial institutions are regulated by the federal government.
Blog
Smart Move for White House to Push Back on Fiduciary Rule, Dodd-Frank
President Trump’s forthcoming executive actions—expected to halt the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule and call for review of Dodd-Frank regulations—will greatly benefit middle-class investors, entrepreneurs,…
News Release
Statement on President Trump’s Financial Regulation Executive Order
Statement from Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray on President Trump’s Executive Order concerning regulating the financial system: “CEI welcomes today’s executive order from the Trump…
CNBC
Here’s what everybody is getting wrong about changes to banking rules
CNBC discusses repealing the Dodd-Frank Act with John Berlau. While Trump can roll back some measures through executive order, there are other provisions…
Reason.com
Frankly, Trump’s Plan To Review and Reform Dodd-Frank Makes a Lot of Sense
Reason.com discusses repealing burdensome aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act with John Berlau. Beyond the question of bailouts, reviewing and reforming the Obama administration’s…
Daily Caller
Trump Signs Executive Order To Rip Up Dodd-Frank ‘Disaster’
The Daily Caller discusses the White House halting the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule with John Berlau. While Friday’s action establishing the framework…
Blog
Congress Should Eliminate SEC Rule that Discloses Company Information to Foreign Governments
Congress should pass a joint resolution of disapproval and block the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rule relating to ‘‘Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers.”…
Blog
Harry Potter and the City Council Chambers
The MacIver Institute documents the temptation of local governments to spend taxpayer money on “economic development” projects and tourist events.
Blog
Blockchain Business Council to Help Secure Property Rights for World’s Poor
The launch of the Global Blockchain Business Council at the 2017 World Economic Forum is good news for the world’s venture capitalists and poor alike.
Blog
Coalition Defends Reform of Credit Union Lending Rules
A dozen conservative and free-market groups have signed onto a coalition letter to preserve deregulation of credit union lending.
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Opposing Repeal of Member Business-Lending Rule of the National Credit Union Administration
View Full Document as PDF Dear President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence, As conservative, libertarian, and free-market organizations concerned about…
CNN Money
Trump should fire CFPB Director Richard Cordray: GOP
CNN Money discusses the president removing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s director with John Berlau. However, it’s not exactly clear if Trump will…
Blog
Clayton Must Work for Both Small and Large Investors at SEC
Jay Clayton, and anyone who goes on to serve on the Commission, must advance the interests of both Main Street investors and entrepreneurs trying to…
Crowdfund Insider
Jay Clayton to Join SEC During Unprecedented Need to “Cut the Red Tape”
Crowdfund Insider speaks with John Berlau on President-elect Trump’s nominee of Jay Clayton for Securities and Exchange Commission chair. Seeking additional perspective, Crowdfund…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: The War on Science and the Economy
Check out RealClear Radio Hour’s last episode with free market stalwarts John Tierney and Peter Wallison.
The Wall Street Journal
Obama’s Regulations Aren’t the Only Trump Target
Overregulation didn’t start during the Obama administration. President-Elect Trump and the new Congress need to go further.
Blog
Five New Year’s Resolutions for a New Administration
Now is the perfect time for members of the incoming Trump administration to reflect on where America is and set policy goals for the coming…
Bloomberg
Make Banks Great Again? G.O.P. Push to Ax Key Agency Poses Risks
Bloomberg discusses the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with Iain Murray. “There are all sorts of risks,” said Iain Murray, vice…
CNN Money
Elizabeth Warren watchdog under siege
CNN Money discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its director with John Berlau. CFPB Director Richard Cordray has “inundated Main Street financial…
Blog
Must-Have Gifts for America’s Wish List
It isn’t Christmas Day yet, much to the chagrin of impatient youngsters, but it’s already time for America to put together a wish list for…
Blog
Congress Needs to Fix America’s Broken Financial System
Whole forests have been cut down to print the books written about the financial crisis of 2007/8 and America’s response to it.
CNN Money
What’s the Best Way to Create More Jobs?
Unleash the power of small business. The US Senate just passed a bill called the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act. The thrust of the…
CNN Money
A Third Strike Against US Businesses
By responding hastily and irrationally to the recent upsurge in corporate indebtedness, congressional tax-writing committees might well create a major economic distortion in an already-biased…
Tulsa World
Credit Reports Used by Insurance Companies
Blog
A Free Market Policy Agenda for the Trump Administration
CEI’s free market policy agenda for the incoming Trump administration is aimed at strengthening the economy and removing barriers to economic freedom in five key…
Politico
Trump vs. Yellen
Politico's Morning Money highlights CEI's policy reform recommendations for the Trump administration. The libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute is releasing a series of short…
Study
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Restore Financial Freedom
View full document as a PDF Over the past 15 years—beginning with the George W. Bush administration and accelerating rapidly in the…
Blog
Five Ways CFPB Regulations Harm the Middle Class
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was set up in 2010 to “make consumer financial markets work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as…
Blog
A Pro-Growth Agenda for the 115th Congress
At CEI, we believe a clear agenda is necessary to move America toward economic growth, prosperity, and liberty for individuals to chart their own paths…
Politico
Aggressive fight promised over Pruitt EPA nomination
Politico's Morning Money highlights CEI's financial policy priorities for the 115th Congress. CEI has a new finance/banking reform agenda for Congress out Thursday.
Blog
Treasury Nominee Mnuchin Promising on Volcker Rule and Fannie and Freddie
Steven Mnuchin would bring to the Treasury Department valuable experience managing entrepreneurial ventures and company turnarounds. He has expressed some encouraging sentiments on housing policy…
Products
Free to Prosper: Banking and Finance
View the full chapter on Banking and Finance here Access to capital is fundamental to the operation of a free society. It allows for…
Independent Journal Review
It’s Time For The New President And Congress To Think Big When It Comes To Cutting Government Waste
Political revolutions don’t come around often: Margaret Thatcher in Britain in 1979, the fall of the Berlin Wall in Eastern Europe in 1990, the Contract…
Forbes
Court Must Overturn ‘Obamacare for your IRA’
Note: This column was coauthored by Pamela Villarreal, senior fellow at the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis. Access to financial advice and a variety…
The Heartland Institute
Federal Judges Demand CFPB Structure Shake-Up
The Heartland Institute discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with Iain Murray. Iain Murray, vice president of strategy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Sun-Sentinel
Five ways President Trump could jump-start economic growth
Too many Americans feel left behind by the weak economic growth and diminished job opportunities under the Obama administration. Too many people have seen their…
Blog
Free Market Opportunities for the Trump Administration
This election has given us one more demonstration that knowledge is dispersed and “trusting the experts” to know the future is foolish. The unexpected success…
Blog
Obamacare Policies Are Costly and Unpopular
Obamacare policies are unpopular, and people often dump them months later.
Blog
New Credit Union Deregulation Helps Consumers and Entrepreneurs
In my Forbes column last week, I wrote about how America’s credit unions faced massive new regulatory burdens from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Blog
5 Scariest Halloween Regulations
Regulatory dark matter is a Washington boogeyman. In 2015, there were 39 regulations for every one law passed by Congress. That’s a lot of rules…
Blog
Obamacare Increases Premiums, Reduces Employment
Health care insurance premiums will increase significantly next year as a result of the Affordable Care Act, and many consumers will be left with access…
Blog
ACLU Blasts Federal Bank Regulators for Unconstitutional Power Grab
Unaccountable agencies unsurprisingly behave in an unaccountable manner. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was recently found by a Federal court to be so unaccountable…
Forbes
Next President Should Fire CFPB’s Cordray
“You’re fired!” A certain presidential candidate made that phrase famous. But whoever is elected to the White House this November should say those words to…
National Review
Bureaucrats Threaten the Rule of Law
Donald Trump’s recent refusal to promise he’ll accept the presidential election’s result has raised much concern. Yet, there has been little outcry over Consumer Financial…
Politico
Sandberg demurs on going to Washington
Politico's Morning Money highlights Sam Kazman's reaction to the federal court's ruling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Competitive Enterprise Institute: “Today’s ruling…
