In new Bloomberg TV interview, Romero Rainey urges lawmakers to fix Clarity Act

In an interview on Bloomberg Television, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey called on Congress to get the Clarity Act right and protect community banks’ ability to lend.

Details: Appearing live on Tuesday’s edition of Bloomberg Crypto (starting at the 14:35 mark), Romero Rainey said the Clarity Act must include a robust prohibition on yield-bearing stablecoin to avoid harming community bank deposits and lending.

Implications: An ICBA economic data analysis shows failing to extend the prohibition on stablecoin yield could reduce community bank lending by $850 billion due to a $1.3 trillion reduction in the industry’s deposits.

Ongoing ICBA Pushback: The Bloomberg interview is the latest in ICBA’s ongoing push to include a stablecoin yield prohibition in the Clarity Act.

• In ads on the 535 newsletter that is widely read on Capitol Hill, ICBA this week is spotlighting how community banks power local communities and what’s at stake in the Clarity Act debate.

• After Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon last week voiced support for passage of the Clarity Act, Romero Rainey told Politico that it was not surprising “that a Wall Street firm that gave up on its failed deposit-taking business would support an effort to drain deposits from traditional banks.”

• In a recent op-ed in the Washington Examiner, Romero Rainey said that while just 18% of Americans said they want lawmakers to prioritize crypto rules, 74% say locally based banking is important to them.

ICBA Crypto Campaign: This week’s 535 sponsorship features ICBA’s interactive map detailing how stablecoin growth could put small-business credit at risk as well as ICBA’s 30-second video ad that pushes back against the crypto industry’s efforts to secure greater powers and less accountability.

Resource Center: ICBA’s Main Street Over Crypto resource center offers tools for community bankers, including ICBA’s grassroots alert on the Clarity Act, messaging playbook, and social media toolkit.

Grassroots Campaign Continues: With the Senate debate over the Clarity Act continuing, ICBA is calling on community bankers to use its Be Heard grassroots action center to urge their senators to strengthen the bill’s prohibition on stablecoin yield.

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