Newsroom
Lawmakers, Fed’s Brainard discuss CBDC during hearing
The House Financial Services Committee Thursday held a hearing to discuss the viability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard, the only witness, stated that Congress needed to pass authorizing legislation before the Fed could issue a CBDC, and that even if this legislation was passed today, it would take at least 5 years to roll out. NAFCU has expressed several concerns with the development and implementation of a CBDC and urged the Fed to not proceed with its development.
NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler wrote to the committee ahead of the hearing to reiterate these concerns, noting that the Fed offering a CBDC directly to consumers would “constitute a massive expansion of their mission and threaten to erode the financial system.” NAFCU also joined with other financial trades to express concerns in a joint letter ahead of the hearing.
During her testimony, Brainard also stated that she saw the need for a digital dollar and that the Fed wanted any CBDC to be an intermediated system so that the existing financial services system would not be undermined.
Much of the questioning focused on the risk of deposit substitution, privacy concerns, stablecoins, and the risk of being left behind as the world innovates for the digital age. Both Democrats and Republicans stressed the importance of keeping the dollar as the reserve currency of choice.
Of note, Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., asked if a CBDC would erode the ability of financial institutions to continue lending via deposits, to which Brainard stated that the Fed was focused on making sure that a CBDC was an intermediated system and not a direct offering.
NAFCU will continue to keep credit union members on the latest updates regarding CBDC.
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
Ensuring Safety and Soundness with AI
Management, Consumer Lending, FinTech
preferred partner
Upstart
Blog Post
Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Capitalizing in a Post-Banking Crisis Era
Strategy
preferred partner
Allied Solutions
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.