Basel Committee suggests introducing maturity limits for stablecoin reserve property

by Jeremy

In a consultative doc revealed on Dec. 14, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of the Financial institution for Worldwide Settlements (BIS) proposed a number of measures on focused adjustment to its normal on banks’ publicity to crypto property. 

The doc is the results of the assessment work carried out throughout 2023, which helped the committee formulate amendments to its authentic prudential requirements for banks’ publicity to stablecoins revealed in December 2022.

Proposed modifications relate primarily to the composition of the reserve property of stablecoins, particularly for crypto property categorised underneath Group 1b within the prudential requirements, “topic to capital necessities primarily based on the chance weights of underlying exposures.”

The committee proposes to focus on the redemption dangers in intervals of maximum stress when the stablecoin issuers may face mass claims for withdrawal and a ensuing fireplace sale. The regulating physique suggests limiting stablecoin exposures to longer-term maturities by introducing a most maturity restrict for particular person reserve property.

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Ought to longer-term property be allowed as reserve property, the committee believes these should overcollateralize the claims of stablecoin holders. The quantity of additional collateral ought to be sufficient to offset potential decreases in asset values so the stablecoin would stay redeemable at its pegged worth, even throughout difficult instances and in unstable markets.

The doc additionally highlights the standards of credit score high quality, suggesting a listing of reserve property with excessive credit score high quality appropriate for stablecoins issuers, together with central financial institution reserves, marketable securities assured by sovereigns and central banks with excessive credit score high quality, and deposits at excessive credit score high quality banks.

The committee will gather feedback on the proposed amendments till March 28, 2024. Amended or not, the prudential requirements for stablecoin exposures have an implementation date of Jan. 1, 2025.

The Basel Committee includes central banks and monetary authorities from 28 jurisdictions and is a discussion board for regulatory cooperation on banking supervisory issues. It issued a earlier session paper on the prudential requirements for stablecoins publicity in October 2023. That doc proposed requiring banks to supply quantitative knowledge on exposures to crypto property and the corresponding capital and liquidity necessities.

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