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Senate Votes Down Unfair CFPB Auto Lending Rule
CEI praised the Senate today for voting down the Obama-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that unfairly penalized auto lenders for any unintentional disparate impact…
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SEC to Propose Investor Fiduciary Rule
In the wake of a court ruling against a controversial Obama-era Labor Department rule expanding liability for investment advice, the Securities and Exchange Commission today…
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Court Rules Against Obama Fiduciary Rule in a Victory for Middle Class Investors
On news that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals late Thursday struck down the Obama Labor Department's controversial fiduciary rule, Competitive Enterprise Institute financial policy…
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CEI Commends Senate for Passing Bipartisan Dodd-Frank Reform Bill
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) commends the U.S. Senate on passage of Sen. Crapo's S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.
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CEI Commends Trump’s Choice of Larry Kudlow for Top Economic Post
President Trump is expected to name Larry Kudlow as director of the National Economic Council this week. CEI experts commend Trump for selecting an adviser with…
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Sen. Crapo’s Dodd-Frank Reform Bill: Important, Commonsense Step Toward Relief for Small Banks
This week, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on Senator Mike Crapo’s bipartisan Dodd-Frank reform bill, “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act”…
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House to Vote on Plan to Cut Red Tape for Small, Fast-Growing Companies
The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a plan to help small companies with big ambitions. The Fostering Innovation Act of 2017 (H.R. 1645)…
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Trump Budget Seeks More Accountability for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
President Trump’s 2019 budget plan, released today, has some big changes in mind for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), aiming to bring much-needed accountability and…
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House Financial Reform Plans Show Lawmakers Recognize Problems Caused by CFPB
This week, the House Financial Services Committee approved 15 bills on regulatory relief for community financial institutions, investment opportunities, access to financing for home buyers,…
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Report: Dodd-Frank Volcker Rule Punishes Main Street
Banking restrictions imposed by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law have caused big problems for banks nationwide, a new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
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CEI Urges Swift Action on CFPB Problems as Director Richard Cordray Resigns
The CFPB under Cordray’s tenure has failed consumers.
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Report: Taxpayers in Danger of Massive Mortgage Bailout
Looming problems mean taxpayers are unfairly on the hook for yet another 2008-style mortgage bailout.
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CFPB Payday Loan Rule Hurts Consumers in Urgent Need: Statement by CEI expert
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today unveiled its long-awaited rule against short term “payday” loans. CEI Senior Fellow John Berlau criticized the new rule,…
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Delay in Fiduciary Rule Compliance Deadline Praised by CEI’s John Berlau
The United States Department of Labor on Wednesday reportedly moved to delay the compliance deadline for the controversial, Obama-era fiduciary rule by 18…
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Report: Return to Depression-Era Banking Law would Shatter Main Street Banks, Shrink Competition
A new report released today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute warns against efforts by Democrats and Republicans to resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, a…
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CEI Criticizes New CFPB Ban on Consumer Arbitration Clauses
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today criticized a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) banning financial industry companies from using mandatory arbitration clauses to…
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House-Passed Financial CHOICE Act Will Help Middle Class Investors, Consumers
Today, the House passed a plan aimed at scaling back some of the most harmful provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. CEI senior…
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Trump Labor Department Gives Fiduciary Rule Go-Ahead, Despite Harmful Impact on Savers and Investors
Today, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced his agency will proceed with the controversial fiduciary rule. CEI senior fellow John Berlau warns that the coming restrictions…
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Berlau Criticizes Government Confiscation of Fannie/Freddie Shareholder Profits
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee today about government-backed mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie…
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CEI’s John Berlau Warns Trump Against Return to Glass-Steagall Banking Restrictions
President Trump said on Monday in a Bloomberg News interview that he was considering breaking up America’s biggest banks. “I’m looking at that right now,”…
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CEI Priorities for New Labor Secretary Acosta
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Alexander Acosta to head the U.S. Department of Labor. CEI experts on labor and financial policy, respectively, offered their thoughts…
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Five Financial Reforms to Help Jumpstart U.S. Economic and Investment Opportunities
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report identifies five urgent financial reform priorities needed to free people from regulations that hurt small businesses and entrepreneurs…
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Trump Order on Too Big To Fail a Good Start to Ending Red Tape, Bailouts
Today, President Trump is set to sign a presidential memorandum aimed, in part, at reviewing the process for designating non-bank financial institutions as “systemically important,” better…
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White House, Congress Should Not Resurrect Failed Glass-Steagall Banking Restrictions
Statement by John Berlau, Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow: Rather than restrict services banks can provide, the White House and lawmakers should…
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Delaying the Fiduciary Rule will be a Big Reprieve for Savers
The Trump Labor Department on April 5 sent the Office of Management and Budget its final rule requesting a 60-day delay for the Obama fiduciary…
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CEI Praises Trump Move to Seek Fiduciary Rule Delay
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CEI Finance Policy Expert Supports Senate’s Vote to Block Fiduciary Rule
Today, the Senate voted against the Labor Department's fiduciary rule by approving the House-passed resolution of disapproval, under Congressional Review Act auspices. CEI financial policy expert…
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Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today on a case involving what constitutes housing discrimination, deciding in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v.
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Statement on Obama “Fiduciary Rule” Vote Today
Today, a House committee is poised to mark up a plan to block the Obama administration's so-called "fiduciary rule," which would restrict the investment choices…
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Payday Loans Myths Punctured in New Report
Washington, D.C., February 6, 2012—So-called “payday loans” and other forms of non-bank , short-term credit are roundly vilified by many politicians and activists, including the…
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Statement by CEI’s John Berlau on the expected Senate passage of the “Small Business Jobs and Credit Act”
Washington, D.C., September 16, 2010 – The Senate is expected to end debate on a bill that it says will aid small businesses and result…
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Statement by John Berlau on Passage of Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Bill
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages…
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Michigan Supreme Court Decision on Insurance Rates a Win for Consumers
The Supreme Court of Michigan this week reversed an initiative of Gov. Jennifer Granholm which would have barred insurance companies from considering the credit ratings…
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Key Sarbanes-Oxley Provisions
Nearly five years ago, CEI and accountant Brad Beckstead began to discuss mounting a constitutional challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley’s Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The…
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Memo: Upcoming Supreme Court decision in Sarbanes-Oxley case
MEMO TO: Friends of CEI FROM: John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Entrepreneurs and Investors DATE: June 21, 2010 SUBJECT: …
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Dodd Bill Punishes Main Street Entrepreneurs, Rewards Fannie and other High Rollers
With the focus this week on health care’s “home stretch” and concerns about government limiting the ability of ordinary Americans to make choices about medical…
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Credit CARD Act Penalizes Thrift And Entrepreneurship
Today, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 goes into effect. While the law, passed last May, is being hailed as…
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Obama’s Glass-Steagall 2.0 Could Crash Financial System
President Obama’s proposal today to bring back 1930s-like separation of commercial and investment banks, dubbed Glass-Steagall II or Glass-Steagall 2.0, would do little to prevent…
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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…
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Unemployment Report, Real Solutions
Today's unemployment report showed the U.S. jobless rate reaching 9.8 percent, the highest since 1983. And although unemployment is referred to as a "lagging indicator"…
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Don’t Let 7-Eleven Give Card Holders a “Big Gulp” of Big Government
On Wednesday, 7-Eleven Inc. and other big retail chains will call on Congress to slap price controls on the interchange fees they pay to banks…
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Berlau in New York Times on Overdraft Fees from Debit Cards – with Misleading Headline
John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was a guest contributor this week to the New York…
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Kennedy Left Deregulation Legacy on Airlines and Trucking
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UBS Settlement Only a Partial Victory for the Feds
The following is the statement of John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, in reaction to…
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Federal Officials Reach Bank Privacy Agreement with UBS
Statement of John Berlau, director of the Center for Investor and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, on a reported deal between the United States…
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Hank Greenberg Wins One in Court, Hits Homerun against AIG and Spitzer
Washington, D.C., July 7, 2009—A federal jury today found in favor of ousted AIG Chairman Hank Greenberg today, in a case brought by the company…
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CEI Praises Appeals Court for Halting Chrysler Bankruptcy
Kudos to the judges on the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for putting a stay on the Obama administration’s nationalization scheme for the bankruptcy…
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Obama Should Respect Role of Bankruptcy Court, Judge Should Put Brakes on Government Motors
Washington, D.C. June 1, 2009—Statement by John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs: Last week, in nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the…
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New Credit Card Law Limits Consumer Choice, Leads to Less Credit, Higher Rates
Today President Obama signed a major new law regulating the credit card industry, a move that will likely hurt consumers. John Berlau, Director of CEI’s…
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Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley Accounting Board
The Supreme Court today announced it would hear a case brought by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Free Enterprise Fund challenging the constitutionality of…