Survey: Bankers worried over possible GENIUS Act loopholes

The vast majority of bankers are concerned that large companies such as Amazon or Walmart will find a way around bans on offering stablecoins that pay interest/yield following the passage of the GENIUS Act, according to IntraFi’s Q2 2025 survey of bank executives..The GENIUS Act establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Under the law, stablecoins must be backed one-for-one by U.S. dollars or other assets deemed low-risk. The bill also defines the status of stablecoins under securities law, and places issuers under the supervision of the Bank Secrecy Act. The bill was introduced earlier this year as the nation’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, were discussing teaming up to issue a joint stablecoin to ward off increasing competition from the cryptocurrency industry. Forty eight percent of banks said the bill will cause them to explore tokens and stablecoins, while 52 percent said stablecoins are not a priority. Eighty two percent of bankers said regulators need to set clearer rules on institutional responsibility for reimbursing customers who fall victim to fraud. The most common challenge for banks looking to reimburse customers for fraudulent checks was the bank of the first deposit being either slow or uncooperative. Bankers reported stable access to capital and deposit competition. More than three-in-four said access to capital was the same as 12 months ago, and 73 percent expect it will be the same a year from now. Fifty six percent of bankers said deposit competition was stable compared to a year ago, while 31 percent reported increased competition. Fifty five percent anticipate deposit competition will be the same 12 months from now, compared to 39 percent who expect an increase. Nearly half said overall economic conditions were the same as a year ago, compared with 29 percent who reported improved conditions. Twenty one percent said conditions had worsened. Forty three percent expect conditions will be the same 12 months from now, higher than the 29 percent anticipating conditions will improve and 28 percent who think the economy will worsen. Forty four percent said loan demand has increased from a year ago, while 28 percent reported a drop in demand. Forty five percent expect loan demand will be higher a year from now, while 13 percent said it will decrease. Sixty one percent said funding costs had fallen in the past 12 months, while 18 percent reported increased costs. Sixty four percent say funding costs will fall in the next year, while 28 percent anticipate costs will stay as is.The survey included responses from 455 bank CEOs, presidents, CFOs and chief operating officers.