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
RealClear Markets
Book Review: Norbert Michel & Jennifer Schulp’s ‘Financing Opportunity’
America is the wealthiest nation on earth, with financial markets that are the envy of the world. Those markets have contributed to America’s rise for…
Blog
House should follow Senate in slashing BBB’s remittance tax–or eliminate it entirely
President Trump has made it clear that he wants a budget reconciliation package on his desk by July 4. In its final version of the…
Daily Calller
Social Security Now Headed For Insolvency Even Sooner Than Expected
Daily Caller cited CEI’s experts on Social Security spending Congress can’t keep dodging entitlement reform. Social Security’s $28 trillion in unfunded liabilities is about the…
Search Posts
Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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,…
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
Conference Planned
Op-Eds
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.
Op-Eds
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…
Blog
Ted Kennedy’s Deregulatory Legacy on Airlines and Trucking
Tributes are pouring in for Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer late Tuesday evening at the age of 77.
Blog
CEI’s RRM Suggests Additional Questions for Florida Insurance Commissioner
Yesterday in a press release from CEI's Center for Risk, Regulation, and Markets, the Center raised many questions that should be brought to Florida Insurance…
Newsletter
Healthcare Complexity, Union Politics and Insurance Markets
Critics question the unwieldy complexity of current healthcare legislation. A compromise version of the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” gains momentum in Congress. Florida Rep.
