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
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News Release
Supreme Court Disappoints on Funding/Powers Question in Ruling in CFPB Case
The Supreme Court today issued a disappointing ruling in CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association of America, a lawsuit challenging the unchecked funding of…
News Release
No surprises with April’s inflation report: CEI analysis
Inflation rose 0.3 percent in April compared to 0.4 percent in March. While this wasn’t a surprise for economists, the news indicates a tough…
Blog
Navigating the maze of federal regulations in 2024: What to know
In a bureaucratic whirlwind, the 2024 Federal Register is attaining new heights, topping 41,000 pages today. An unsettling new norm for the past few weeks…
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Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY & AGRICULTURE The “UN warns of unrest as food price inflation hits developing countries,” pointing the finger…
Blog
Sen. Johnson is Back
Senator Tim Johnson, returned to work yesterday. His return means that the debate over Optional Federal Chartering of insurance will heat up (link…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY State attorneys general pressure MySpace, Facebook and other social networking websites to implement stricter…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ECONOMICS Officials and residents debate whether the federal government should subsidize rebuilding efforts in hurricane-prone…
Blog
What Gives in South Carolina?
I’m writing this from the new library in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. It’s a big, open all glass building that I wouldn’t want to be…
Op-Eds
Bankrupting Florida
If a catastrophic Katrina-like hurricane sweeps through the state of Florida, it may leave behind more than wrecked houses, damaged shops, and ruined roads:…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Microsoft presses the Federal Communications Commission to make broadcast spectrum available for wireless service.
Op-Eds
Barriers to more effective US disaster insurance
Sir, You are right about the need for much greater purchase of disaster insurance but, perhaps, say verylittle about how difficult it might be…
News Release
Sarbanes-Oxley Fifth Anniversary Marked by Problems
Washington, D.C., July 30, 2007—Tuesday, July 31st is the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s signing of the Sarbanes-Oxley bill aimed at protecting investors from…
Blog
Should Disaster Insurance Be Compulsory?
A masthead editorial (full text by subscription only) lays out a compelling case for mandatory purchase of catastrophe insurance. I’ve long supported something close…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Lawmakers prepare to vote on a major new farm bill. CEI Expert Available to…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Lawmakers prepare to vote on a major new farm bill. CEI Expert Available to…
News Release
New Insurance Bill Helps Insurers and Consumers
NOTE: Due to the speed at which this press release was written, not all parties quoted reviewed it before it was sent. All quotations,…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The city of Washington, D.C. asks the Supreme Court to review a recent federal court verdict…
Op-Eds
Short on Storm Coverage
So long as hurricanes continue to sweep through Florida's landscape, Floridians will have to find ways to repair the damage. As the Sentinel…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
1. CONGRESS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman John Dingell prepare for a showdown on energy policy. CEI Expert Available to…
Blog
Mandatory Purchase
In a piece in Saturday's Washington Examiner, I examine the parallels between auto insurance and health insurance, and, for the most part, find that…
Op-Eds
The Road to Health Care Reform
When they buy automobile insurance, Americans enjoy a market that provides many choices, lots of competition, and, in most places, reasonable rates. Residents of…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Health Michael Moore’s controversial documentary on health care in America, Sicko, opens nationwide.
News Release
National Opening of “Sicko” Has Pro-Freedom Activists Crying Foul
Washington, DC, June 29, 2007—With Michael Moore’s documentary indictment of the U.S. health care system, Sicko, opening at theaters nationally this weekend, members of…
Op-Eds
Charleston’s Uncommon Tragedy: Fires do less damage today than ever before
Nine firefighters perished as a terrible inferno swept through <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Charleston’s Sofa Super Store this past Monday…
Blog
Long Term Outlook on Underwriting Profits
I had an op-ed yesterday’s Washington Times about the rather dismal insurance situation along the Gulf Coast. A friend e-mailed me to challenge one…
Op-Eds
Hurricane Eye on Insurers
Throughout the hurricane zone that follows <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America's Atlantic coastline from Texas to North Carolina, a populist…
Blog
Mea Culpa (Sorta) on Credit Scoring
No sooner did I post my thoughts about the Supreme Court decision on credit scoring than I got an e-mail from an American Insurance…
News Release
Study: SOX Rules Rob Investors of Ability to Build Wealth
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., June 7, 2007—Sarbanes-Oxley, the federal law aimed at protecting investors from corporate abuses, is actually hurting…
Study
SOXing It to the Little Guy
Remember 1982, when video games, personal computers, and cordless phones were new—and the companies that made these products were new? If investors could travel back…
Study
Will Repealing the Federal Insurance Antitrust Exemption Help Or Hurt Consumers?
Full Document Available in PDF If…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Issues in the News 1. MEDIAA federal appeals court strikes down Federal Communications Commission’s rules for…
Blog
SCOTUS On Insurance and Credit Reporting
A Supreme Court Decision handed down today, Safeco v. Burr, mostly sided with two insurance companies in a dispute over notifications related to the…
Blog
Banning “Discrimination” That Might Protect Safety
Politicians love to vote against “discrimination.” It makes them feel saintly, even if the law they vote for has unintended consequences, saddles businesses with red…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONSUMER The Washington Post reports on CEI’s campaign to protest substandard appliances resulting from energy efficiency mandates. 2.
News Release
Insurance Reform Bill Could Have Big Impact on Consumers
Washington, D.C., May 24, 2007— America has a deeply troubled auto and homeowners’ insurance system. A bill to be introduced today in Congress may…
Blog
Selling Insurance on the Web
Today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription only) features an article about the increasing use of the Web for the sale of insurance policies. I was…
Blog
Wildfires in California: A Growing Residual Market?
We may be seeing the emergence of yet another residual market for insurance, this time against wildfire. Even though fires have declined a great…
Blog
Property Insurance Becomes a Legislative Casualty
The Florida legislature recently passed a bill regulating property insurance rates in response to complaints that premiums in certain hurricane-prone areas were too high.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT The Washington Post celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of environmentalist icon…
Comment
Comments Submitted to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the Proposed Model Audit Rule
Full Document Available in…
Blog
Charlie Crist: Populist
Florida continues its populist jihad against private insurance companies. On top of last year’s legislation letting the state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. compete outright for…
Blog
The Collapse of Private Insurance: Part XXVII
A federal jury verdict yesterday in Lousiana requiring Allstate to pay several million dollars it didn’t expect to further underlines the inherent problem with…
News Release
Insurance Reform Bill Could Have Big Impact On Consumers
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., April 10, 2007— America has a deeply troubled auto and homeowners’ insurance system, but a forthcoming bill…
Blog
The Tip of the Iceberg
I have a piece in today’s National Review Online about the new bill that would provide optional federal chartering (OFC) for insurance companies. OFC,…
Blog
Is Bad Regulatory Competition Better than No Regulatory Competition?
I had an interesting conversation about regulatory competition in the context of insurance. A lawyer I was speaking with argued that any regulatory competition structure—even…
Blog
So Where do the Shipping Disasters Take Place?
They take place at home. Let me explain. In studies of regulatory policy, the international flags-of-convenience system for shipping often gets cited as an example…
Blog
An interesting idea for insurance choice
In the next few weeks, I'm going to be writing a good deal about the idea that insurance companies should have the ability to do…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH President Bush visits wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INSURANCE A major insurer announced this week it will offer a homeowners’ insurance product for customers living in…
Blog
Thoughts about McCarran-Ferguson
Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, angry with the whole insurance industry over the situation in his home state of Mississippi, has announced that he…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS The Senate refuses to allow the Capitol grounds to be used…
Op-Eds
Caring for Vets: A Healthy Plan
If it wants to fix the appalling mess that medical care has become at Washington D.C.’s Walter Reed hospital, the Department of the Army might…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH The Food and Drug Administration announces a plan to speed up access to…