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
Fed decides to maintain interest rates during July FOMC meeting: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced it will maintain interest rates, signaling a continued commitment to the fight against inflation. The Fed is remaining…
Blog
Forecasts, not puppet strings: The myth that prediction markets rig reality (Part I)
Prediction markets have become an increasingly prominent tool for forecasting elections, economic indicators, geopolitical events, and other uncertain outcomes. As their popularity has grown,…
News Release
Inflation drops some in June, does not yet indicate inflation relief is here to stay: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for June fell 0.4 percent, mostly canceling out May’s 0.5 percent increase. While this may provide some immediate…
Search Posts
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…
