US Banks Request Delay in Implementation of Stablecoin Regulatory Framework

The US banking sector is increasingly involved in the crypto industry's key regulatory endeavors, with a coalition of bank trade associations recently petitioning the US Department of the Treasury to extend the public consultation period for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. In a letter addressed to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, US bankers are seeking extended comment periods for three GENIUS Act rule proposals, requesting a minimum of 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) completes its rulemaking process. The OCC's efforts to establish a framework for overseeing stablecoin issuers have significant implications for other ongoing rulemaking efforts at the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as well as a related rulemaking initiative at the FDIC. The bankers argue that all these efforts are 'directly contingent' on the OCC's final framework and collectively represent a regulatory undertaking of unprecedented scope and complexity. The banking organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, emphasize that their comments will be more comprehensive and useful to the agencies if they have sufficient time to evaluate the proposed rules in conjunction with the finalized OCC framework. The GENIUS Act is slated for implementation by 2027, although federal agencies often grant extensions for complex rules. The Treasury Department has not yet responded to a request for comment on the bank industry's request. Meanwhile, the same bankers are engaged in a stablecoin-related debate with the crypto industry, which has already led to a months-long delay in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and potentially jeopardized its chances of becoming law this year.