The American Bankers Association (ABA) has criticized the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) finalized rules on payment stablecoin issuance and custody, arguing that the regulator's interpretation went against Congress' intent.
In a Wednesday notice, the ABA said that while the OCC's final rules implementing the GENIUS Act included "several positive steps," the banking group remained critical of provisions related to stablecoin yield. The regulator dropped a provision that would have established a presumption that certain third-party arrangements violated the law's ban on yield payments.
ABA flags removed safeguards
"The final rule removes the OCC's originally proposed safeguards that would have addressed indirect arrangements involving affiliates, exchanges and other distribution partners," said the ABA. "As a result, payment stablecoin issuers can provide economically equivalent yield while technically avoiding the statutory prohibition. The OCC also declined to adopt a broader presumption against arrangements designed to circumvent the ban."
The group added: "Those gaps risk undermining the distinction Congress drew between payment stablecoins and traditional bank deposits, threatening the funds banks use to make the loans that drive the US economy."
Industry split on yield provision
Stablecoin rewards were a key issue lawmakers and interest groups debated before and after the GENIUS Act passed Congress in July 2025, and they continue to face scrutiny amid discussions of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill currently in limbo after a failed procedure vote in the Senate last month.
The Blockchain Association approved of the change to the yield prohibition, arguing that the OCC "[brought] the final rule more closely in line with the statutory text." The Bank Policy Institute, another banking industry advocacy group, largely sided with the ABA, saying that "the decision to omit the yield presumption replaces clarity with ambiguity and puts the banking system and its customers at risk of deposit flight."
Implementation timeline
The OCC finalized its rules ahead of the GENIUS Act's implementation in January 2027. Other government departments are expected to release rules on GENIUS related to their agencies' purview over stablecoins, including the Federal Reserve and Treasury.
