Patricia Patnode

Iowa, Washington, D.C., United States

Research Fellow at The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)

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Articles

Rebecca Minkoff’s Success: A Testament to the Importance of Personal Credit

2 weeks ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

Nobody likes paying interest on a credit card bill. It may seem like an easy out to just have Congress forbid it. But what people might not realize is using government to impose a cap on those rates will do more to shrink access to credit, especially personal credit, than help people out of debt. Unfortunately, our elected representatives in Congress may not realize this, either, given the looming bills in both the House and the Senate that threaten just such an interest rate cap.
Reviving Community Banking By Lifting Barriers To New Banks

1 month ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

Americans have far fewer banks to choose from than they once did. The American banking industry has consolidated, with the number of U.S. banks falling from more than 8,000 to less than 5,000 between 2000 and 2014 alone. By 2023, the number of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured banks had further decreased to 4,641, marking a substantial decline despite the U.S. population growing significantly during this period.
Reviving Community Banking By Lifting Barriers To New Banks

1 month ago | issuesinsights.com | Patricia Patnode |Ari Patinkin

Americans have far fewer banks to choose from than they once did. The American banking industry has consolidated, with the number of U.S. banks falling from more than 8,000 to less than 5,000 between 2000 and 2014 alone. By 2023, the number of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured banks had further decreased to 4,641, marking a substantial decline despite the U.S. population growing significantly during this period.
Yes, women had access to credit before 1974

1 month ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

March is Women’s History Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate many “firsts” for women in public life. One of those “firsts” is the ability for American women to open a credit card independently, without a husband or father’s cosignatory, following the passage of The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by Congress in 1974. This bill prohibited discrimination in credit transactions based on sex or marital status and is generally considered a landmark for women’s financial independence.
Gov. Youngkin should veto restrictive credit bill

2 months ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

While many watchful eyes focus on the economic impacts of actions of federal lawmakers inside the Beltway, pending legislation in a statehouse 100 miles south of DC could wreak havoc for the finances of residents of Virginia and perhaps the entire nation. In our evolving financial technology landscape, Virginia Senate Bill No. 1252 poses a threat to credit access in Virginia.
Fintech’s Buy Now, Pay Later system helps consumers budget wisely: CEI analysis - Competitive Enterprise Institute

2 months ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

Klarna, a Swedish financial technology (FinTech) company, is set to file publicly on the US stock market as soon as next week. Klarna’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) system could help consumers budget purchases responsibly by offering flexible and transparent payment options. CEI’s Patricia Patnodeapplauds Klarna’s BNLP system and its potential as an important financial tool.
Opinion: Reynolds gives lesson on governance

2 months ago | thegazette.com | Patricia Patnode

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. Iowa’s dramatic executive agency overhaul led by Gov. Kim Reynolds has caught the eye of federal lawmakers. So much so that the governor testified at the House Oversight Committee Feb. 5 hearing on "Rightsizing Federal Government." Online attention following the hearing was mostly focused on Rep. Alyssa Pressley (D-MA) criticizing Iowa for its lack of ethnic diversity.
Bill Would Prevent Banks From Discriminating Over Clients’ Ideology, But Here’s the Problem

2 months ago | dailysignal.com | Patricia Patnode

The government shouldn’t pressure banks and other financial institutions to avoid doing business with politically controversial people and businesses, just as bakers should not be compelled to bake cakes with messages they disagree with. Instead, they ought to be empowered to make their own decisions, taking a pass on would-be customers who are at odds with the banks’ own values or business interests. So, when Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen.
Bill Would Prevent Banks From Discriminating Over Clients’ Ideology, But Here’s the Problem

2 months ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

The government shouldn’t pressure banks and other financial institutions to avoid doing business with politically controversial people and businesses, just as bakers should not be compelled to bake cakes with messages they disagree with. Instead, they ought to be empowered to make their own decisions, taking a pass on would-be customers who are at odds with the banks’ own values or business interests. So, when Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen.
Coinbase's FOIA complaints against FDIC raise serious government transparency concerns - Competitive Enterprise Institute

Jan 31, 2025 | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

In the waning days of the Biden administration, whistleblowers and investigative journalists put forth alarming revelations of financial regulators jawboning banks to cut off services to the cryptocurrency sector in what is being called Choke Point 2.0. Now comes news that these same regulators also may have concealed important information from Freedom of Information Act requests, according to allegations from the cryptocurrency firm Coinbase.