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
The Cedar Rapids Gazette
Here’s how Iowa is involved in stopping controversial ‘debanking’
Many Americans have recently been exposed to the troubling reality that their government may be encouraging banks to withdraw financial services from people or firms…
Blog
CFPB Unfairly Targets Zelle
As part of a last-gasp effort by the Biden administration to punish legal businesses it disapproves of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued…
Yahoo Finance
Consumer protection agency closes the Biden era taking big swings
Yahoo Finance cited CEI’s financial expert on bad regulations “I can’t speak to the merits of every lawsuit, they’re filing them so fast,” said…
Search Posts
Newsletter
Fingerprints, Telecom Lawsuits and Al Gore’s Carbon Footprint
The Senate considers a bill creating a new federal fingerprint registry. The House of Representatives votes to shield telecom companies from lawsuits arising from the…
Op-Eds
Bailing out homeowners
Your June 16 editorial “Tornado warning” is absolutely correct to point out that “every part of the country has its risks.” But these…
Newsletter
Drilling for Oil, Regulating Wall Street and Speaking Out On Unions
One million Americans sign a petition urging Congress to allow offshore drilling for oil and gas. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calls for the Federal Reserve…
Study
Optional Federal Charter for Insurers
An optional federal charter for insurers would help consumers by creating competition between regulators.
Newsletter
Google, Ethanol and a Housing Trust Fund
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) grills Google on consumer privacy concerns. Gas prices dip slightly from their record high. The Senate considers a housing “rescue” bill.
Newsletter
The Fairness Doctrine, Windfall Profits and Recycling Mandates
Lawmakers clash over FCC broadcast regulation known as the “Fairness Doctrine.” Prominent politicians debate a windfall profits tax for oil companies. European lawmakers pass stringent…
Op-Eds
Distrust Fund
It’s almost a D.C. truism that anytime Congress creates a "trust fund" for a certain policy issue, the money flowing into the…
Op-Eds
The Value of Hedge Funds
Re “The Great Seduction” (column, June 10): While David Brooks makes some good points about debt and thrift, he paints with…
Newsletter
Termination Fees, Windfall Profits and a Federal Wilderness Land-Grab
The Federal Communications Commission holds a hearing to investigate “termination fees” for customers who cancel their cell phone, cable or Internet contracts early. Senate Republicans…
Citation
“Affordable Housing” Push Fed Subprime Bubble
Newsletter
Gas Prices, the Federal Reserve and Insurance Regulation
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) claims that the global warming legislation she recently endorsed would not result in an increase in gas prices. Federal Reserve Bank…
News Release
CEI Commends Insurance Reform Hearings
The House of Representatives today convenes its first hearings on proposals to create a first-ever federal insurance overseer, an Office of Insurance Information. That’s…
Newsletter
Energy Legislation, Interest Rates and Futurism
The Senate prepares for a vote to end debate on major global warming legislation. The value of the dollar climbs slightly after the Federal Reserve…
Study
Toward a National Market for Insurance
A small step to liberalizing property and casualty insurance…
Op-Eds
Catastrophe coalition looking out for public, not reinsurers
Your recent editorial, “Who’s really opposing national disaster plan?” (May 13), mischaracterizes the interests and motivations behind the organizations that comprise Americans for Smart…
Op-Eds
Fingerprint Registry in Housing Bill!!!
Earlier this week, a measure creating a federal fingerprint registry totally unrelated to national security passed a U.S. Senate committee almost without notice.
Newsletter
Beef, Housing and Money for the Blind
The Dept. of Agriculture proposes a ban on so-called “downer” cattle. The Senate Banking Committee approves a new housing bill. A federal court rules that…
Newsletter
Polar Bears, Subsidies for Millionaires and Credit Card Fees
The Department of the Interior finds that polar bears are “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The House of Representatives approves major new farm legislation.
Newsletter
Financial Markets, Internet Ads and Immigration
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sees turmoil in financial markets easing. New York legislators consider a bill to restrict online advertising. The Manhattan Institute releases…
Citation
the Proposed Housing Bailout
Op-Eds
A Financial Disaster Waiting to Happen
Florida's state government easily could end up bankrupt this year unless the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist change the state's homeowners' insurance laws.
Op-Eds
A financial disaster waiting to happen
Florida’s state government easily could end up bankrupt this year unless the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist change the state’s homeowners’ insurance…
Newsletter
Satellite Radio, Gas Prices and the Credit Crunch
Sirius and XM Satellite await final government approval of their merger. Average gas prices rise to a new record high, prompting accusations of price gouging.
Newsletter
National ID Cards, Green Hypocrisy and Insurance Subsidies
The Cato Institute hosts a policy forum on proposals to create a de facto national ID card. The Daily Mail profiles the hypocrisy of jet-setting…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, Poultry Wars and Disaster Insurance
The House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee holds a hearing on proposed rules for “net neutrality.” The European Union refuses to lift a ban on the…
News Release
Coalition of Free Market Groups Speaks out against Subsidized Wind Insurance
A coalition of free market groups, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute, is urging members of the Senate to oppose an expansion of federal insurance subsidies.
Citation
The Left-Wing Mortgage Counseling Racket, Cont’d: La Raza’s Earmark
Newsletter
Climate Skeptics, Immigration and Interest Rates
CEI launches a new video series featuring experts who are skeptical of alarmist global warming predictions. Supporters of immigrant rights rally in several cities across…
Op-Eds
Ensuring Disaster
Congress may put taxpayers on the hook for what could easily top $100 billion in liabilities before Memorial Day…
Op-Eds
Legislature can set tone to save Florida
Florida’s state government easily could end up bankrupt unless the Legislature abruptly changes course. Minor insurance law changes approved Wednesday don’t change much at…
Newsletter
The FCC Goes Local, Economic Woes and Gun Rights
Senators express concern over proposed FCC localism regulations. The U.S. economy avoids recession status with modest growth in the first quarter of 2008. A federal…
Op-Eds
Don’t be fooled – horses are risky
Regarding the April 18 story, “Bridgeton woman’s horses make insurance company skittish”: Cordelia Ashton believes that it’s unfair for her insurance company…
Op-Eds
How a minor storm could bankrupt Florida
Here’s one scary Halloween scenario that could easily come true: By trick-or-treat time, just past the hurricane season’s peak, Florida’s state government…
Newsletter
Baby Bottles, Union Conflicts and Credit Card Fees
Wal-Mart announces that it will stop selling baby bottles made with the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA. Members of the California Nurses Association and the…
Op-Eds
Suing Over Pay Discrimination
“Pass the Fair Pay Act” (editorial, April 23) seemed unaware of the existence of the Equal Pay Act, which already gives employees ample time to…
Blog
GINA Law Passes, Will Afflict Insurers and Employers
On April 24, the Senate voted 95-to-0 to pass the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), which bans insurers and employers from taking genetic information into…
Blog
Killing Consumer-Directed Health Care?
One of the most important recent innovations in health care has been the expansion of consumer-directed care, especially through Health Savings Accounts. HSAs offer patients…
Citation
Regulation of Insurance Rates
Citation
Insurance Price Controls
Newsletter
Custody Disputes, Food Shortages and Taxi Cab Fares
Over 400 children seized from a polygamous sect in Texas are dispersed to group homes and shelters across the state. Zimbabwe, confronted with high food…
Citation
CEI’s Property and Casualty Insurance Report Card
News Release
CEI Welcomes New State Insurance Rankings
Following the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s lead, the Consumer Federation of America today released its own ranking of state insurance environments. Washington, D.C., April 24, 2008—Following…
Op-Eds
Police Those Credit Cards
The burdensome, patronizing, new credit card regulations proposed in the wildly misnamed “Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights” will hurt just about every…
News Release
CEI Takes on Unconstitutional Agency in Court
Today, as Americans scurried to get their tax forms into the IRS, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about another agency that…
Comment
Comments to National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Emptying the insurance policy shelves: Why price controls are a bad idea even in insurance markets.
Newsletter
Financial Regulations, Greenhouse Gases and Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo
The Treasury Department’s “blueprint” for overhauling financial regulation faces strong opposition. State governments across the country pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. News Corp. considers…
Study
A Flawed Blueprint
America needs fundamental financial regulation reform. The Treasury Blueprint fails to provide it.
Newsletter
Global Health Threats, Foreclosure Relief and Food Riots
Members of Congress hear testimony on whether global warming will become a threat to human health. Senators agree on a foreclosure relief plan for mortgage…
News Release
New Financial Regulations Will Expand Bureaucracy
In a new study released this week, Competitive Enterprise Institute scholars size up the Treasury Department’s recent proposal to restructure the way…
Newsletter
Green Homes, Free Trade and Housing Discrimination
Multi-million dollar homes raise controversy for claiming “green” building credentials. Congress prepares to consider a new trade agreement with Colombia. An appeals court rules apartment…
