Speaking to an audience of more than 1,400 bankers in Washington, D.C., today, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols emphasized three key issues where banker advocacy is needed, including closing a critical loophole in the Genius Act that threatens to divert bank deposits into digital asset wallets — which could have negative consequences for bank lending.
Nichols cited data from a new ABA/Morning Consult Survey that showed that by a three-to-one margin, Americans want Congress to bar stablecoin issuers and affiliates from offering interest and rewards if it could harm banks’ ability to provide loans and promote economic growth.
In addition to stablecoin, Nichols also expressed the industry’s support for the SCAM Act, a new bill co-sponsored by Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) in the Senate, and Reps. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), that would force social media companies to take reasonable steps to remove scam ads from their platforms.
Finally, Nichols highlighted the need for bankers to stay engaged on credit card-related issues, including an effort to impose a 10% interest rate cap, which could see as many as 159 million Americans lose access to credit were it to be enacted.
“Bankers know that government price controls and mandates don’t work,” Nichols said. “And at a time when Americans are struggling to make ends meet, the last thing they need are policies that make credit less accessible, take away their credit card rewards and undermine our modern, efficient and secure card payment system.”
