Bank of America has indicated that if US regulations permit, it will go ahead with the launch of its own dollar-backed stablecoin.

On Tuesday, the bank’s chief executive Brian Moyniham told the Economic Club of Washington, DC: “If they make that legal, we will go into that business."

He added: “We bank everybody. The real question was about over-regulation frankly.”

The comments come after Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Scott last month committed to passing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (Genius) Act.

The legislation aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, which are digital assets pegged to a fixed monetary value.

The Genius Act includes several key provisions, including defining payment stablecoins as digital assets used for payment or settlement, establishing procedures for institutions seeking licences to issue stablecoins, and implementing regulatory standards for stablecoin issuers.

The regulation aims to promote financial innovation while ensuring consumer protection and maintaining the US dollar's global position, the US senate committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs said in a statement in February.

“It’s pretty clear there’s going to be a stablecoin, which is going to be fully dollar-backed... so you’ll have a Bank of America coin and a U.S. Dollar deposit and we’ll be able to move them back and forth because now it hasn’t been legal for us to do it but it’s just like another foreign currency,” said Moynihan.

Several international banks have recently been exploring and issuing stablecoins during to explore the benefits of blockchain technology and digital currencies.

Societe Generale has launched its Euro-backed stablecoin, EURVC, for retail investors; UK-based Standard Chartered is also issuing stablecoins for payments and payroll.

https://nationaltechnology.co.uk/Standard_Chartered_To_Launch_Joint_Venture_For_Hong_Kong_Dollar_Backed_Stablecoin.php

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey last year revealed that the central bank is getting ready for a retail CBDC in case commercial banks fall through.

In October last year, governor Andrew Bailey said that the Bank is justified to prepare for a digital currency because it has “not yet seen enough evidence” that the innovation will happen in commercial banks.

Revolut has also said it’s exploring the release of euro-dominated stablecoins.

In the US, JPMorgan has been testing blockchain-based payment systems and is looking into stablecoin solutions.

Last month, US president Donald Trump accused major banks of discriminating against conservative clients.

Joining remotely the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he named Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, claiming that these financial firms were not providing banking services to conservative clients. The US president didn’t provide any evidence to support these claims.

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