WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a proposed rule that would require permitted payment stablecoin issuers under its supervision to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, provisions of the GENIUS Act and related anti-money laundering requirements, according to the OCC.
Under the proposal, OCC-supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers would be required to comply with applicable regulations issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, including anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs, sanctions programs and reporting requirements, the OCC said.
The proposal would also establish a supervisory and enforcement framework governing AML/CFT programs at OCC-supervised stablecoin issuers. In addition, it would create a framework for consultation between the OCC and FinCEN when the OCC intends to initiate a significant AML/CFT supervisory action or enforcement action.
OK to Share Certain Information
According to the OCC, the proposal would also permit stablecoin issuers to share certain nonpublic OCC information with the FinCEN director when it relates to current or potential AML/CFT enforcement actions or significant supervisory matters.
The proposed rule follows other recent regulatory efforts aimed at establishing oversight standards for the growing stablecoin sector.
Public Comment Sought
As the CU Daily reported earlier, last week, the OCC joined the Federal Reserve, FinCEN, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the National Credit Union Administration in seeking public comment on a proposal that would require certain payment stablecoin issuers to maintain customer identification programs.
The Federal Reserve said the proposal would impose requirements comparable to customer identification program standards already applicable to banks and credit unions.
The OCC’s latest proposal comes as regulators continue to build a framework for digital asset oversight following passage of the GENIUS Act and amid heightened scrutiny of financial crime risks associated with emerging payment technologies.
Meanwhile, industry participants continue to assess the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
