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
Dodd-Frank 15 years later: How financial regulators leveled up
The leadup to Dodd-Frank This month marks the 15th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. This law was enacted in the wake…

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…
Search Posts
News Release
CEI Asks: Is a Beach House Bailout Next?
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Op-Eds
Obama and Dodd Hypocritical on AIG Bonuses
In response to public outrage, Obama is belatedly criticizing the millions of dollars in bonuses that AIG, which is being bailed by taxpayers…
Newsletter
Liar Loans, Rising Sea Levels and Gambling Online
Democrats in Congress quarrel over new bankruptcy rules for homeowners. Newspaper headlines claim that sea levels are rising twice as fast as before. Finance Committee…
Op-Eds
Bailouts for Liars, Illegal Aliens and Unjust Bonuses
The inept managers of the insurance giant AIG, which is being bailed out by taxpayers at a cost of over $170 billion, are using…
Citation
States Insurance Funds Should Not Receive Federal Backing
Newsletter
Obama’s Greenhouse Gas Plan, Accounting Rules for Economic Recovery and Science v. Politics
The Obama administration plans to dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on the economic…
News Release
Florida’s State-Run Insurance Edges Closer to Sanity
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Newsletter
Stocks Rise, Fossil Felonies and Reforming Online Gambling
Stock values make their biggest one-day gains since last November. Congress considers a land management bill that could punish paleontologists and rock collectors with arrest…
Newsletter
A Fundamentally Weak Economy, Alternative Energy Mandates and Where Soros is Putting His Money
The White House budget director describes the U.S. economy as “fundamentally…weak.” Maryland’s governor proposes legislation to require greater use of alternative energy sources.
Op-Eds
Greening America – At What Cost?
Iain Murray explores the disasterously high costs of de-carbonizing America.
Citation
No to State Backed Hurrican Fund
Newsletter
$75 Billion for Bad Mortgages, Card Check in Congress and Lowering Global Warming Expectations
The White House unveils the details of its $75 billion mortgage “rescue” spending package. Democrats in Congress push for changes in labor organizing rules. President…
Citation
The Mortgage Entitlement Bailout: Even Worse Than You Think
Op-Eds
States Broke the Insurance Regulatory System
About six months after the U.S. government first injected taxpayer money into AIG, the company continues to teeter on the brink of bankruptcy…
Op-Eds
Speak out against ‘fishing expedition’
Sir, Kudos to former ambassador Faith Whittlesey for her valid points about the Obama administration exerting “raw Goliath power” and breaching a bilateral tax agreement…
Letters
The Calculation of Climate Change Risk in the Provision of Insurance
Full Document Available in PDF It is obvious to anybody that a risk of climate change exists: weather patterns…
Newsletter
Beer Taxes, the Beige Book and Drug Safety Before the Supreme Court
Oregon becomes one of the states seeking to raise new revenue by increasing taxes on beer. The Federal Reserve releases its…
Newsletter
Genachowski for FCC, Obama Meets with Gordon Brown and the Threat of a Carbon Tax
President Obama nominates technology advisor Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits the White House to discuss international…
News Release
Obama Foreclosure Plan Hurts Middle-Class Investors, Retirees
Contact: Cord Blomquist 202-615-0600 Obama Foreclosure Plan Hurts Middle-Class Investors, Retirees Washington, D.C. , March…
Letters
Proposed Taxes on Reinsurance Will Hurt Consumers
Full Document Available in PDF Additional taxes on reinsurance transactions would wreak havoc with…
News Release
Think Tank Questions Revised AIG Bailout
Early this morning, federal regulators and AIG officials announced revised terms for the bailout of the now-government-controlled insurance giants. The terms ease AIG’s obligations in…
Op-Eds
A Tax to Weaken America
President Obama said last Thursday that he would not cut spending “on investments that will make America stronger.” He really meant that…
News Release
Free Market Think Tank Blasts My Safe Florida Home Termination
Contact: Eli Lehrer 202-615-0586 Christian R. Cámara 305-608-4300 Free Market Think Tank Blasts My Safe Florida Home Termination A rare government program worth saving…
News Release
Tax Proposal Would Hurt American Consumers
Contact Eli Lehrer: (202) 615-0586 Tax Proposal Would Hurt American Consumers Affiliated Reinsurance Penalties Would Imperil…
Zibb
CEI Naming Vermont Best, Florida Worst for State Insurance Regulation
Zibb
CEI Naming Vermont Best, Florida Worst for State Insurance Regulation
Zibb
Flood Insurance Plan To Get Extension
Zibb
A House Appropriations Bill Calling for a Six-Month Flood Insurance Extension
News Release
Congress Poised to Extend Flawed Flood Insurance Program
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Newsletter
Obama’s Housing Plan, Privacy on Facebook and Fairness Doctrine 2.0
President Obama announces a $75 billion mortgage “rescue” plan. Changes to the terms of service on Facebook raise a ruckus among privacy activists. The White…
Study
The Truth About Online Gambling
Michelle Minton explores why government shouldn't treat gambling as if we lived in the Old West.
Study
Poker as a Game of Skill
Full document available in pdf It’s two minutes before the cards are…
Newsletter
Bottled Water Wars, Stimulus Disaster and Offshore Oil
Activists urge local governments to enact policies opposing the sale of bottled water. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops dramatically as President Obama signs a…
News Release
Statement on Obama Foreclosure Avoidance Plan
Statement on Obama Foreclosure Avoidance Plan by John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs The new $75 billion foreclosure avoidance…
Blog
Bad McCarty! Bad!
Will regulators never learn? You can’t force businesses to actively pursue a business model that is unprofitable. Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist and Insurance regulator Kevin…
Newsletter
Stimulus Signing, Washington the Entrepreneur and California Emissions
President Obama prepares to sign the $787 billion federal stimulus package into law. Americans across the country celebrate the birthday of George Washington. The Environmental…
Zibb
Scholars Saddness at Seeing State Farm Go
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Florida Seeking Federal Aid To Close Gap In Hurricane Fund, With Startups At Risk
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Florida Seeking Federal Aid To Close Gap In Hurricane Fund, With Startups At Risk
Zibb
Don’t Let Judges Tear Up Mortgage Contracts
The nation faces a foreclosure crisis of historic proportions, and there is an understandable desire on the part of the federal government to “do something”…
Newsletter
Stimulus Upon Us, Lethal Wildfires Down Under and Satellite Radio Takes a Hit
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress reach a deal to spend $789 billion in taxpayer money on “economic stimulus.” The death toll from wildfires in…
TMC Net
Optional Federal Charters for insurance companies
TMC Net
Property insurance reform in Florida
Florida Real Estate Journal
Property insurance reform in Florida
TMC Net
There Being Little Chance of OFC Opponents Being Swayed by ‘New-and-Improved’ Bill
TMC Net
Critics Hitting U.S. Insurance Regulator Bill Proposal
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Critics Hitting U.S. Insurance Regulator Bill Proposal
News Release
CEI Comments on Proposed National Regulatory Modernization
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Op-Eds
Don’t Punish the Shareholders, Too
In justifying a change of policy on negotiating corporate penalties, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, stressed the…
Newsletter
Senate Stimulus, Geithner’s Banking Plan and a Florida Insurance Bailout
The Senate passes an $838 billion economic stimulus package. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announces a new plan to revitalize troubled U.S. banks. Florida officials look…