ICBA expressed support for Senate and House legislation to restrict the Fed from offering a central bank digital currency or direct FedAccounts to consumers.
Bill Details: S. 3954 and H.R. 6415 would bar the Fed from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing CBDC directly to an individual.
ICBA Position: In letters to the lead sponsors, ICBA said:
It adamantly opposes proposals for the Fed to directly provision retail deposit accounts, known as “FedAccounts,” which would compete with community banks and raise privacy concerns.
A CBDC presents similar concerns by directly competing for bank deposits, which would reduce credit availability.
