Opinions

It's in financial institutions' best interest to treat increasingly popular cryptocurrency assets the same as other financial assets held by their customers. And regulators must foster a safe environment for these assets by focusing on real risks like money laundering and terrorism finance.

The industry reported a net release of reserves, helping to make up for a record-low net interest margin and the first year-over-year decline in loan balances in nearly a decade, the FDIC says in its latest Quarterly Banking Profile.

The Federal Reserve's Randal Quarles, in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, sought to fend off criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren that the central bank treated with kid gloves some foreign banks under its jurisdiction that later took heavy losses. The hearing also featured a discussion about a new framework for digital assets.

In addressing systemic risks posed by fluctuating cryptocurrency values, the Federal Reserve and other central banks must acknowledge that quantitative easing has driven up the price of digital assets.

The White House directive may lead regulators to develop new mortgage underwriting standards, stress-test requirements and flood insurance policy, observers said.

While cryptocurrencies could have benefits, they have “not served as a convenient way to make payments, given, among other factors, their swings in value,” said the head of the Federal Reserve. He also detailed imminent Fed research on a central bank digital currency.

Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown told acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu that the cryptocurrency firms approved to operate national trusts under prior agency leadership “seek access to the benefits of a bank charter” without meeting certain regulatory standards.

The Massachusetts bank, which traditionally In contrast to its typical strategy of supporting low-income housing, the invested $500,000 in CEI Ventures’ Coastal Ventures V fund to support small businesses in disadvantaged communities.

During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Democrats largely praised the policy decisions of acting regulators named by the Biden administration and knocked their predecessors. But Republicans warned that moves to reverse Trump-era policies would leave financial institutions without a clear road map.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles has made it clear that banks failing to make the transition away from the benchmark rate could face supervisory consequences.