I opened the ABA Banking Journal recently and the lead headline was, “White House report downplays risk to banks from stablecoin interest payments.” According to the story, the White House Council of Economic Advisors issued a report that stated, “A prohibition on paying interest or yield on payment stablecoins would do ‘very little’ to protect bank lending ‘while forgoing the consumer benefits of competitive returns on stablecoin holdings’.” We all know that’s just dead wrong. And we will have to come together through grassroots efforts led by the IBA, ICBA and ABA to work against this plan to allow stablecoin entities to pay interest. More to come, but we will need your help!
Some days, it feels like the value proposition of traditional commercial banking is under attack by emerging nonbank payment systems, financial services technologies and nonbank competitors. Yet, since the first commercial bank in the United States was established 244 years ago in 1782, community banking has weathered every challenge thrown our way. The number of commercial banks peaked in the United States at 29,417 in 1921; today, there are less than 4,500. While there may be fewer commercial banks today, the foundational strength and relevancy of the commercial banking industry have never been more resilient. And that’s very true in Indiana banking.
Collectively, we must continue to present a unified, strong and determined voice to protect our role in taking care of our clients and communities. And the Indiana Bankers Association provides all of us with a terrific platform from which to accomplish that. Please continue to actively support the IBA’s initiatives through your team’s voices. Speaking of a unified voice, this issue of the Hoosier Banker features a cover story on Indiana Senator Jim Banks, who serves on the Senate Banking Committee. As the story details, Senator Banks is an important voice supporting commercial banks nationwide and we’re grateful to have his Hoosier support of our mission in the Capitol. There is nothing that unites Indiana Bankers more than the IBA Mega Conference. This month, 1,195 of you attended Mega, bringing energy, focus and dedication to Indiana banking. On behalf of the IBA team, thank you for your bank’s commitment to moving the Indiana banking community forward. At Mega, we further affirmed our ability to compete effectively with all competitors, just as we have since that first commercial bank was created 244 years ago!
