Lawmakers Urge FDIC for Clearer Digital Asset Regulations

According to PANews, U.S. lawmakers, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, along with Representatives Dan Meuser, Andy Barr, and Bryan Steil, have called on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to establish clearer regulations for digital assets. In a letter addressed to FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill, the legislators expressed concerns over federal regulators allegedly pressuring banks to deny services to cryptocurrency-related businesses, a practice referred to as 'de-banking.' The lawmakers proposed five key recommendations for the FDIC. Firstly, they urged the agency to ensure that all bank supervisory guidance is documented in writing and made public to prevent reliance on informal verbal instructions. Secondly, they called for financial institutions to provide clear reasons when closing customer accounts, ensuring greater accountability while complying with the Bank Secrecy Act. Thirdly, they advocated for the removal of 'reputational risk' as a regulatory factor, arguing that it has been misused to justify unfair banking restrictions. Fourthly, they suggested an external review of all supervisory guidance to balance regulatory benefits with the impact on financial access. Lastly, they emphasized that all regulations should be uniformly applied across financial institutions to prevent selective enforcement.