Newsroom
NAFCU to HFSC: Ensure CUs are included in foundational digital asset reg framework
In a letter sent ahead of the House Financial Services Committee hearing to review the President's Working Group (PWG) on Financial Markets' report on stablecoins, NAFCU's Brad Thaler explained that the absence of a clear regulatory environment and appropriate supervisory framework poses risks to the adoption of otherwise promising technologies, such as digital assets.
In addition, Thaler, NAFCU's vice president of legislative affairs, noted that while the report on stablecoins represents an important first step towards bringing rules and regulation to emergent stablecoin adoption, the report adopts and cites the Federal Deposit Insurance Act's definition of an insured depository institution, which does not include credit unions.
"By adopting this narrow definition, which includes banks and savings associations but not credit unions, the Report risks legislators and other regulators interpreting the Report as recommending that Congress enact legislation requiring a stablecoin issuer to obtain a bank charter – not either a bank charter or a credit union charter," wrote Thaler. "This arbitrary approach, if left unchecked, will result in competitive disadvantages, market distortions, and reduced innovation by excluding an entire class of federally insured and comprehensively supervised depository institutions from new markets for innovative products and services."
In the letter, Thaler urged Congress to explore ways to provide regulatory certainty and parity across the financial services system and ensure a level playing field for all. "We urge you to ensure the needs of credit unions are considered in any legislative approach you consider in the future," concluded Thaler.
Of note, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger previously wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to point out the risks of excluding credit unions from the legislation requiring all payment stablecoin issuers to be insured depository institutions.
In addition, Berger has urged the NCUA to take action on digital asset issues to ensure credit unions are not left behind as federal financial regulators move toward foundational federal digital asset regulation and legislation.
NAFCU will continue to engage Congress, the Treasury Department, the NCUA, and other federal financial regulators to call for credit unions to be granted the ability to engage with digital assets on equal footing with banks.
Share This
Related Resources
Add to Calendar 2024-05-03 14:00:00 2024-05-03 14:00:00 Plan Sponsor Attitudes Toward Retirement Plan Management and Fiduciary Outsourcing About the Webinar In January 2024, Pentegra conducted a survey of retirement plan sponsors and their perspectives on retirement plan management and fiduciary outsourcing. The survey measured how sponsors are using fiduciary outsourcing to help better manage their retirement plans. It also captured their perspectives on what outsourcing does to help them better position their plans and drive improved retirement plan outcomes. Key Takeaways: What is the full scope of your responsibilities as a plan sponsor? What is fiduciary outsourcing and how does it work? How does fiduciary outsourcing help reduce workloads and minimize risk? How can a credit union best position its plan to drive improved outcomes? Register Here Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
Plan Sponsor Attitudes Toward Retirement Plan Management and Fiduciary Outsourcing
preferred partner
Pentegra
Webinar
Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Capitalizing in a Post-Banking Crisis Era
Strategy
preferred partner
Allied Solutions
Blog Post
Ensuring Safety and Soundness with AI
Management, Consumer Lending, FinTech
preferred partner
Upstart
Blog Post
Add to Calendar 2024-05-02 14:00:00 2024-05-02 14:00:00 Mastering Resilience in Incident Response Plans About the Webinar An Incident Response (IR) plan is crucial for guiding credit unions through major incidents efficiently and effectively. However, many IR plans lack resilience, making them less adaptable to the evolving threat landscape. Join us for our webinar Mastering Resilience in Incident Response Plans where DefenseStorm cyber experts Elizabeth Houser and James Bruhl will delve into the importance of resiliency within cybersecurity IR plans. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn how to: Ensure IR plan accessibility so that all team members with assigned roles are prepared for effective incident response. Conduct efficient and regular reviews to ensure roles and responsibilities are current, tools are relevant, and compliance requirements are met. Implement and utilize tabletops to regularly test the effectiveness of your IR plan. Enhance preparedness, efficiency, and confidence among responders. View On-Demand Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
Mastering Resilience in Incident Response Plans
preferred partner
DefenseStorm
Webinar
Get daily updates.
Subscribe to NAFCU today.