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
Blog
What a 1958 onion law reveals about modern politics
University of Chicago students recently held an onion-themed protest, of all things. Social media was flooded with more onion puns than any reasonable…
Blog
The challenges of central banking
The Federal Reserve has decided to maintain interest rates between 3.75 percent and 4 percent. Within minutes of this announcement, economists, investors, politicians,…
News Release
Federal Reserve holds rates steady as inflation turmoil continues: CEI analysis
The Fed has decided to keep interest rates steady as it continues to battle against rising inflation and economic uncertainty, made worse by…
Search Posts
News Release
SEC Decision on Corporate Penalties Could Harm Investors
SEC Decision on Corporate Penalties Could Harm Investors Watchdog Group Urges Chairman Schapiro to Reconsider…
Op-Eds
Insurer’s Exit Leaves Florida on the Brink
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Newsletter
Stimulus Trade Wars, Smart Grids and Bank Nationalization
Lawmakers propose applying a “buy American” restriction to projects funded by the economic stimulus package. Energy companies lobby for subsidies for a national “smart” electrical…
Citation
Election Reopening National Catastrophe Fund Debate
News Release
Opposition Builds to Senate Stimulus Bill
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Newsletter
Stimulus Transparency, Springsteen on Wal-Mart and the Mirage of Green-Collar Jobs
Developers launch StimulusWatch.org to keep track of the hundreds of billions of dollars Congress is planning to spend to stimulate the economy. Bruce Springsteen grabs…
Op-Eds
State Farm exit will leave Florida on the brink
State Farm’s decision to quit providing homeowners insurance in Florida shows that the state’s insurance market simply can’t survive in its current form.
Op-Eds
Wetlands–An Environmental Issue for Free Marketeers
Conservatives have good reason to question parts of the environmental movement’s wish-list. Proposals for new energy taxes, “green jobs” programs, and restrictions…
Op-Eds
State Farm’s exit leaves Florida on the brink of a crisis
State Farm’s decision to quit providing homeowners insurance in Florida shows that the state’s insurance market simply can’t survive in its current…
Newsletter
Green Stimulus, Bottled Water and Big Labor Infighting
Congress sets aside billions in the economic stimulus package for environmentally oriented energy and infrastructure projects. The New York Times’ “Freakonomics” column debunks the argument…
Newsletter
Economists Disagree on the Stimulus, Gore Self-Serving Testimony and the Trouble with TARP
Two-hundred economists dispute President Obama’s claim that there is “no disagreement” about the need to expand government spending to jumpstart the economy. Former Vice President…
Newsletter
Stimulus to Nowhere, Banning Cell Phone Cameras and More Money for Ethanol
Republicans on Capitol Hill attack the $825 billion economic stimulus bill championed by President Obama. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) introduces legislation to ban silent cell…
Citation
State Farm wanting to drop homeowners insurance in Florida
Newsletter
A New Agenda for Congress, Geithner Confirmed and New Rules for Car Makers
Democrats debate how far to go in compromising with Republicans in order to pass major legislation. The Senate confirms Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary by…
Citation
President Obama, You Can’t Stifle This Dissent
Citation
State Farm Looking to Quit Florida Homeowners Market
Citation
State Farm Pulling Out of Florida Property Market
News Release
CEI Explains State Farm Withdrawal From Florida Market
State Farm today announced its plans to withdraw from Florida’s property insurance market. Over the next two years, the company—America’s second largest home insurer and…
News Release
CEI Unveils Agenda for Congress
Washington, D.C., January 26, 2009—With the incoming Obama administration and the opening of the new Congress, the House and Senate are…
Citation
Salon.com’s Fact Checking
Newsletter
Full Stop on New Regulations, Infrastructure Confusion and the Problem with ‘Priming the Pump ‘
President Obama orders a halt to implementation of all pending federal regulations. President Obama calls for increased spending on roads, bridges and electrical grids. President…
Newsletter
EPA Confirmation Hearings, Obama’s Stimulus and Ken Salazar for Interior
Lisa Jackson responds to questions during her confirmation hearing to become the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency. President-elect Obama proposes a massive economic…
Newsletter
Geithner’s Tax Trouble, Paycheck Protection and Obama’s Science Advisor
Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner comes under fire for past irregularities with his income taxes. The House of Representatives approves the misleadingly-named “Paycheck Fairness Act.” NASA…
Letters
Requesting a TARP Disapproval Resolution
Full Document Available in PDF United States Congress Washington, DC 20515 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf…
Newsletter
The FCC and Media Ownership, Ford’s Auto Bailout and Vilsack for Agriculture
President-elect Obama’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission favors stronger diversity and “media ownership” regulations. Poor sales figures may push the Ford Motor Company…
Citation
Geithner’s Nomination
Citation
Why Geithner Is A Bad Choice
Citation
The Embattled Geithner’s Nomination
News Release
Statement on Treasury Secretary Nominee Timothy Geithner’s Failure to Pay Self-Employment Taxes
Treasury Secretary Nominee Timothy Geithner's failure to pay four years’ worth of self-employment taxes for Social Security and Medicare is absolutely astonishing. And as more…
National Association of Manufacturers
Obama and the Keynesian Revival
The National Association of Manufacturers discusses Iain Murray's National Review article on Obama's Keyenesian revival. Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute makes…
Newsletter
Union Scandal in California, Alternative Energy Promises and Short-Selling on Wall Street
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) finalizes a controversial merger of its California locals into one state-wide “superlocal”. President-Elect Obama promises to double the nation’s…
CNS News
Economists Say Bush ‘Chucked’ Free Market Principles Long Before Financial Crisis
CNS News discusses President George W. Bush's move away from free market principles. However, Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute told CNSNews.com that…
Time Magazine
Broken Windows, Broken Logic
Kinsley's latest missive in time falls prey to one of the oldest traps in economics–Frédéric Bastiat's broken-window fallacy. Just as a broken window creates work…
Cafe Hayek
Tranquilizing the Stimulators
Newsletter
Coleman v. Franken, Drug War TV and $8 Trillion Worth of Stimulus
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) announces a legal challenge to an election ruling favoring his rival Al Franken. ABC premieres the primetime drama “Homeland Security USA,”…
Newsletter
Bernard Madoff, Paul Krugman and Unexpected Winter Weather
The Securities and Exchange Commission investigates its own actions leading up to the discovery of Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scam. New York Times…
Newsletter
Steel Stimulus, Barry Goldwater and 600,000 New Government Jobs
The U.S. steel industry faces tough times as demand collapses. Supporters of limited government celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Barry Goldwater. President-Elect…
Cafe Hayek
15 Years of NAFTA
Newsletter
E-waste, Auto Bailout and Climate Science
Activists oppose exportation of used electronic and computer components, or “e-waste”. Detroit auto companies start spending their $17.4 billion in bailout funds. Journalist Lawrence Solomon…
Newsletter
Bernard Madoff’s Personal Fortune, Clean Coal Technology and Wasteful Federal Spending
Alleged investment fraudster Bernard Madoff is ordered to disclose all of his financial assets to government investigators. Environmental groups launch a series of TV ads…
Op-Eds
The SEC’s new chief-to-be
President-elect Barack Obama‘s choice of Mary Schapiro to head the embattled Securities…
Cafe Hayek
North Carolina’s Insurance chief Jim Long Retirement
American Spectator
The Myth of Buying Local
Buying local has always been a popular sentiment, but the movement has picked up steam in recent years. Especially this holiday season, consumers are being…
Letters
Letter To President Obama on Credit Unions and Business Lending
Full Document Available in PDF December 23, 2008 The Honorable Barack Obama President-Elect…
American Spectator
Anyone Want to Sue Over the Illegal UAW Bailout?
News Release
White House Auto Bailout a Recipe for Failure
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Letters
Response to AFSNCP Letter Supporting Mitigation in Stimulus Package
Full Document Avalible in PDF December 18, 2008 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House H-232 Capitol…
Blog
How Do Regulations Stack Up as a Small Firm Grows?
Tomorrow, electric utilities and green groups team up at the National Press Club to ask for billions of new spending on what they term energy…
Newsletter
Fed Chairman in Trouble, Kids’ TV Goes Green and Google Goes Edge-Caching
Critics of the financial bailout allege that the federal government has exceeded its Constitutional powers. The Nickelodeon TV network for kids begins an environmental awareness…
News Release
Berlau Commends Schapiro Pick for SEC
John Berlau, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, issued the following statement on President-Elect Barack Obama's appointment of Mary Schapiro…
Op-Eds
Time to shore up the Beach Plan
Insurance Commissioner-elect Wayne Goodwin has called North Carolina’s Beach Plan a “ticking time bomb.” He’s right. The plan, intended to provide “last…
Blog
Jay Leno Riffs on the Bailout
A new viral email, claiming to be jokes written by Mr. Leno, adds a bit of humor to the financial crisis. As business and government…
Newsletter
A Union Sit-In, Global Warming Politics and Mortgage Modification
Laid off union members stage a sit-in at the recently-closed Republic Windows & Doors plant in Chicago. Physicist Richard A. Muller endorses “exaggeration and distortion”…
News Release
Congress Probes Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
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Newsletter
Obama’s Public Works, FCC Diversity Mandates and the Auto Bailout
President-elect Obama promises the largest spending program on public works programs since the 1950s. Obama tech advisor Henry Rivera endorses a proposal to expand minority…
Newsletter
Obama’s Attorney General, More Stimulus Spending and Defending Deregulation
Barack Obama’s choice for attorney general comes under scrutiny for his record on civil liberties. Democrats in Congress plan to seek additional billions in taxpayer…
Study
Compounding Catastrophe
Why Federal Involvement in State Catastrophe Insurance Is a Bad Idea…
Newsletter
Stimulus Spending, General Motors and Mortgage Lawsuits
President-Elect Barack Obama outlines his plan for more federal spending to stimulate the economy. Auto executives present restructuring plans to Congress in hopes of avoiding…
Blog
Doug, I think you’re partly wrong
Doug, The situation you describe in the UK here is outrageous however one looks at it. Indeed, it provides a strong case why the…
American Spectator
JLF’s new report urging changes to stabilize, reform coastal insurance coverage
American Spectator
What is Insurance?
Full Document Available in PDF Insurance is a type of financial product that serves to pool, manage and mitigate against unexpected…
Op-Eds
Which Way Is Wise?
If there is one phrase to describe the events in the subprime meltdown, it is “collective stupidity.” Looking back on the poor underwriting…
Newsletter
Obama’s Treasury Pick, Waxman’s Chairmanship and the Big Tobacco Deal
President-Elect Obama prepares to nominate New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wins control of the powerful…
American Spectator
PCAOB Case to Supreme Court
Blog
Too Bad Daschle Isn’t at SEC — Backed Sarbanes-Oxley Relief
President-Elect Barack Obama just nominated former Senate Democratic Leader Tom to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. Much is being written about Daschle…
Blog
Daschle: Good, Wrong, and Terrible
President-elect Obama has named Tom Daschle to head the Department of Health and Human Services. By some measures the largest department in the government,…
American Spectator
Bush administration’s legacy
News Release
Sarbanes-Oxley Case to Be Appealed to Supreme Court
In a 5-to-4 split decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week declined to review a constitutional challenge to the Public Company Accounting…
News Release
CEI Expands Insurance Project in Florida
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Newsletter
White House Summit, Auto Bailout and Oil Drilling
Leaders of twenty nations gather at the White House to discuss the global financial downturn. Lawmakers prepare to debate a financial…
American Spectator
the economy
Op-Eds
Another Housing Crisis Brewing
Irresponsible federal and state homeowners' insurance schemes could easily cost the nation several hundred billion dollars when and if a major hurricane hits.
American Spectator
regulatory reform and Sarbanes-Oxley
Newsletter
Freezing Regulations, Attorney General Prospects and Bailing Out Detroit
President Elect Obama meets with his team of economic advisors. Controversial law professor Charles Ogletree is mentioned as a possible nominee for Attorney General. Detroit’s…
Study
Catastrophe Funds and Reinsurance
Eli Lehrer answers and explores the most frequently asked questions about catastrophe funds and reinsurance.
Op-Eds
Economic Change We Need
Now that the election is over, the most important issue facing the new president and Congress is the economy. To deal with it…
American Spectator
AIG Uses My Money to Tell Me How Taking More of My Money Is Good for Me
Op-Eds
Dealing with the Threat of Global Recession
Fred L. Smith Jr. and John Berlau on the upcoming Global Economic Summit: Governments should agree to a timetable to end the bailouts.
Newsletter
E-voting, the Fairness Doctrine and Economic Unrest in Ecuador
Problems with electronic voting machines are reported in several states. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) argues for the re-imposition of the “Fairness Doctrine” for TV and…
American Spectator
Obama vs. Clinton
Ever since the economy emerged as the top campaign issue, Barack Obama has developed two basic messages. One is that the deregulation John McCain…
Blog
Imagine: Free Health Care Is Expensive!
Who would have thought it? Provide free health care and people drop their private coverage. It seems that politicians are uniformly slow learners. But after…
Newsletter
Auto Industry Bailout, Voter Fraud and Nobel Laureates Go Political
Politicians pressure Treasury Secretary Paulson to provide a bailout to the auto industry. Election officials object to loosened voter registration rules for college students. …
American Spectator
Spitzer and Sarbox Were Deregulation?
Newsletter
Taxing the Rich, the Costs of Ethanol and the Fed’s Loose Money Policy
Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher becomes a national campaign personality. The Federal Reserve lowers a key interest rate in hopes of reviving investment. Environmentalists debate the…
Newsletter
Internet Censorship, Reforming Fannie and Freddie and Free Trade with Colombia
American tech companies announce new guidelines for doing business in nations threatened by censorship. Lawmakers urge embattled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to…
American Spectator
the origins of the mortgage crisis
Newsletter
Credit Card Settlements, Wireless Networks and What’s ‘Killing the Earth’
Visa and MasterCard reach a $2.75 billion settlement with Discover Card over an antitrust complaint first brought in 1998. Cox Communications plans to roll out…
Newsletter
Home Sales Rise, Voter Fraud Accusations and Another Ban on Bottled Water
Existing home sales rise 5.5% in September. Groups around the country preemptively prepare for the possibility of voter fraud. Bottled water faces a ban by…
American Spectator
the Wall Street bailout in historical perspective
American Spectator
an economic policy agenda for the next president
American Spectator
Free Market Groups Launch Website to Move “Beyond Bailouts” Toward Fiscal Solvency
Newsletter
Stimulus Redux, Benefits of Bottled Water and the Pro-Poverty Left
Senators consider a second round of taxpayer-financed economic stimulus. Bottled water producers attempt to work constructively with environmental groups that have called for additional taxes…
Newsletter
More Stimulus, AIG’s Financial Trouble and Tax Promises
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calls for a 2nd economic stimulus package. Troubled insurance giant American International Group Inc. halts its lobbying efforts and cancels…
Op-Eds
The Joe-the-Plumber vote is bigger than you think
Joe the Plumber did more than add some levity to the last presidential debate. Joe, aka Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio, just may have…
News Release
Free Market Groups Launch BeyondBailouts.org
As the economy continues to adjust to the credit crunch, CEI and NTU partner to fight for real financial reforms, not reckless spending.
American Spectator
the costs of greenhouse gas regulation
Newsletter
Banning Bottled Water, Disaster Insurance and the Mortgage Meltdown
The U.S. Conference of Mayors votes to endorse banning the sale of bottled water across the country. Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund could face a shortfall…
Op-Eds
Property insurance gamble: Florida Risks its Fiscal Future on a Quiet Hurricane Season
One simple fact ought to dominate every discussion of Florida’s homeowners’ insurance system: Were a single storm to hit the wrong area, it would literally…
Op-Eds
Florida, Nation Need Federal Insurance Regulator
Much of the turmoil in America’s financial markets involves exotic investments that most Americans never have heard of and never will get near. However, with…
Study
How EESA Might Impact Property and Casualty Insurance
Full Document Available in PDF This paper explores the ways…
Staff & Scholars
John Berlau
Senior Fellow and Director of Finance Policy
- Banking and Finance
- Deregulation
- Financial Regulation
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International
Steve Swedberg
Finance and Monetary Policy Analyst
- Banking and Finance
- Deregulation
- Financial Regulation