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
Citation
Newsom Looks To Extend Carbon Cap Policy, Fund Rail Boondoggle As Possible Gas Crisis Looms
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on gas prices “California refining capacity is dying, it is dwindling,” Marlo Lewis Jr., a senior fellow at the Competitive…
PYMNTS
Bankers Tell Congress Regulation Hinders M&A and ‘De Novo’ Formation
PYMNTS cited CEI’s expert on bank mergers and de novo banks “In every business sector, new entrants are essential to the functioning of a competitive,…
Blog
Under Biden or Trump, taxing carried interest is stupid and destructive policy
No matter who’s in charge of the presidency or Congress, flawed proposals to close the so-called carried interest loophole just keep coming back. News outlets…
Search Posts
Letters
CEI Leads Letter Rejecting Recoup Act
Dear Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Schumer, and Minority Leader McConnell: As leaders of policy groups concerned with constitutional liberties, government accountability, and…
Blog
Worried about massive federal debt? Time to right-size the regulators
In the annals of federal bloat, a milestone is looming as noted in another post last week: 2024 interest payments on America’s $34 trillion…
Washington Examiner
Capital One merger could make Discover a rival to the largest credit cards in payments
CEI’s John Berlau is cited in the Washington Examiner on the credit-card merger: “Discover is currently in fourth place in card network size, far behind…
Fox Business
How Capital One’s acquisition of Discover could impact consumers
CEI’s John Berlau is cited in Fox Business on the acquisition: John Berlau, director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), said in…
News Release
Capital One/Discover Merger Not a Threat to Competition, Overregulation Is
The proposed merger between Capital One and Discover is not a threat to competition in the credit market, but there is one big looming threat…
News Release
January’s inflationary numbers higher than most realize: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index numbers for January reportedly rose 0.3 percent compared to the month before, but CEI’s senior economist Ryan Young explains why…
Washington Examiner
White House pushes ‘shrinkflation’ messaging to assign blame to corporations
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited on the Washington Examiner: “Shrinkflation is real, but it’s not a partisan issue. Shrinkflation is part of the great COVID…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Horseracing and postal products
The Supreme Court heard a case about whether Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding public office under the Fourteenth Amendment. A lawyer’s memo called…
News Release
Interest rates to hold steady for now: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its most recent meeting, as expected. The speculation is now about when it will begin cutting…
Blog
The full Scope of problems with the SEC’s climate disclosure rule
I have a paper out today, examining the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed rule on mandatory climate disclosures. The SEC’s rule seeks…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Burning trash and methane emissions
GDP grew at a healthy 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Regulators blocked an airline merger, and a carbon tariff moved…
Blog
CFPB Data Breach Shows Danger of its Attempted Power Grab Over Fintech
My friend Patrick Brenner, president of regional free-market think tank the Southwest Public Policy Institute, recently had a great op-ed at FoxNews.com on data…
News Release
Strong Growth Report Will Allow Federal Reserve to Stay the Course on Fighting Inflation
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report today showing the U.S. economy grew by 2.5 percent in 2023. Gross domestic…
Blog
The Natural Asset Hydra
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) recently proposed a radical rule to amend its manual for listing public companies to include a new form…
North State Journal
NC attorney general wants cash apps regulated by CFPB
CEI’s John Berlau is cited on the North State Journal on CFPB regulations in North Carolina: John Berlau, senior fellow and Director of Finance…
Blog
The threat to sound economics isn’t over
This week, the New York Stock Exchange withdrew its proposal to create a new designation for public companies called Natural Asset Companies, or NACs.
News Release
CEI Scholar Selected for Hoover Institution Initiative on Policies Impacting Small Business
CEI is delighted that the renowned Hoover Institution has chosen CEI Senior Fellow James Broughel as a Visiting Fellow for its Small Business Regulation program.
Comment
CEI comments on SEC’s proposed adoption of NYSE listing standards for “Natural Asset Companies”
TO: Securities and Exchange Commission FROM: Stone Allen Washington; Research Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute RE: No. SR-NYSE-2023-09 To the Honorable Gary Gensler,…
Letters
Coalition Letter on American Consumer Institute – Risk Transfer
Chief Counsel’s Office Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E–218 Washington, DC 20219 Ann E. Misback…
News Release
CFPB Overdraft Proposal Would Harm Consumers
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – as part of the Biden administration’s whole-of-government crusade against “junk fees” – unveiled a proposed rule that…
Comment
CEI Comments on SEC Proposed Rule Change to Amend the NYSE Listed Company Manual
January 17, 2024 Docket ID: Release Nos. 34-99225, File No. SR-NYSE-2023-09 Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Order Instituting Proceedings to Determine Whether…
News Release
More to inflation story than meets the eye: CEI analysis
According to the Consumer Price Index, December saw inflation rise to 3.4 percent, up 0.3 percent from the month prior. Despite this, inflation numbers…
Blog
Congress could revoke many costly Biden admin rules with Congressional Review Act. Here’s a list!
Until April of 2023, a federal rule costing $100 million was considered “economically significant.” Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) raised that…
Blog
Don’t make crypto the electricity scapegoat
A radical new tax proposed by the Biden administration would make cryptocurrency mining the scapegoat for electricity usage. The so-called Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME)…
Study
Don’t Depower Crypto
Introduction In President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget blueprint,1 the president proposed a new tax aimed at the electricity use caused by cryptocurrency mining. Known…
News Release
Report: Energy Tax Targeting Crypto Industry – Bad Idea for a New Year
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report investigates whether the energy usage of certain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin merits a targeted electricity tax on the industry…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Auto dealers and automated tariffs
The first week of the new year’s regulations is in the books. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from junk fees to cable tv competition. On…
Daily Caller
Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Dreams Are A Nightmare For Average Americans, Experts Say
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in the Daily Caller on student loan cancellation: “Parents are already willing to save and sacrifice in order to afford…
Blog
Unconstitutionality Index going into 2024: 46 rules for every law
The Biden’s administration’s 3,018 rules and regulations of 2023 is fairly typical of agency output these days. But while rule counts remain relatively stable,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: 2023 year-end special
The tentative final numbers for new regulations for 2023 are in: The final four-day week of 2023 was relatively slow: 60 final regulations, 34 proposed…
Blog
Federal Register 2023 gives Congress 90,402 reasons to restrain the regulators
As we bid farewell to 2023 and ring in 2024, the Federal Register reveals a noteworthy chapter in regulatory history under the Joe Biden administration.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Avoiding a Central Bank Digital Currency with Nicholas Anthony
In this week’s episode we cover the legislative record of House of Representatives in 2023, the proliferation of conferences about ESG investing,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Oxides of nitrogen and approaching of whales
Congress has adjourned until January, so the Republic is safe until then. The Fourteenth Amendment suddenly became a factor in the presidential race. Meanwhile,…
The Hill
Don’t hand a blank check to a troubled FDIC
When shocking reports surfaced recently of discrimination, harassment and a toxic workplace culture at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, members of both parties…
The Dispatch
Why ‘Dollarize’?
The newly inaugurated president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is variously described as a radical libertarian, a right-wing populist, and an ultraconservative. Rather than try to…
Blog
Obscuring the SEC’s climate disclosure rule may invite a host of legal problems
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) pending climate disclosure rule has been delayed yet again. The climate disclosure rule will require publicly traded companies to quantify…
Blog
Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next year?
As expected, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate the same this week, which influences other interest rates, including car and mortgage payments. The…
Blog
Inflation holds steady, Fed interest rates likely to stay put
The Consumer Price Index went up 0.1 percent in the month of November. Its 12-month increase is 3.1 percent, same as last month’s report.
Blog
Federal government waves goodbye to ‘economically significant’ regulations
Last week, the Fall 2023 edition of the White House’s Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions appeared. It features the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Address labels and exporting missiles
The FDA approved the world’s first gene-editing therapy, which could cure sickle cell disease. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent. Meanwhile, agencies issued…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Au pairs and processed pears
The 2023 edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments is out now. Henry Kissinger died at age 100. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
Inflation makes regulations even more expensive
The just-released 2023 edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments report estimates that the total cost of complying with all federal regulations is $1.94…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments 2023 is out now
The 2023 edition of CEI’s flagship annual study, Wayne Crews’s Ten Thousand Commandments, is out now. For those not familiar, 10KC gives a big-picture…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Slender salamanders and joint employers
Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary cease-fire. OpenAI’s board of directors fired CEO Sam Altman, then re-hired him and fired themselves. President Joe Biden…
Blog
Slice the regulatory turkey this Thanksgiving
The turkeys Liberty and Bell just received a Thanksgiving pardon from Joe Biden. The official presentation of a turkey for a presidential pardon and rescue…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: California raisins and debit card fees
There was a pro-Israel and anti-Hamas rally on the National Mall of more than 200,000 people. A fight nearly broke out at a Senate hearing.
Discourse Magazine
What America’s Recent Bank Failures Tell Us About ESG Phasing
Financial institutions that radically phase out fossil fuel and other politically scorned investments pose a serious risk to their own business, to investors and ultimately…
News Release
Good News on Inflation during October, but It’s Still Too High: CEI Analysis
The consumer price index did not increase from September to October, according to newly released government numbers. But because core CPI is still higher…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Junk fees and dehumidifiers
It was a four-day week due to Veterans Day. Another government shutdown deadline is less than a week away. The FTC issued a proposed rule…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Personal finance and YouTube with Spencer Johnson
In this week’s episode we cover how states can reform higher education, ways that managers can make their employees happier at work,…
