Major U.S. banking trade groups have urged regulators to delay public comment deadlines on a set of proposed stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act, citing regulatory complexity and a strict dependence on yet-to-be finalized guidance.
In a joint letter submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), industry bodies requested that comment deadlines be extended to a 60 days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issues its final rule.
The request comes as regulators push forward with a broad set of proposals aimed at establishing a comprehensive federal regime for stablecoin issuance, oversight, and compliance under the GENIUS (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins) Act, which was signed into law in July 2025.
Deadlines across proposals
The extension request covers three major Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) tied to the GENIUS Act framework:
- The Treasury’s proposal on state-level regulatory equivalence, published April 3, 2026, with comments due by June 2, 2026
- The FDIC’s proposal on requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers and banks, published April 10, 2026, with comments due by June 9, 2026
- The joint FinCEN/OFAC proposal on AML/CFT and sanctions compliance, also published April 10, 2026, with comments due by June 9, 2026
Dependence on a pending OCC rule
At the center of the request is the OCC’s proposed rule implementing the GENIUS Act for entities under its jurisdiction, published on March 2, 2026, with its own comment deadline set for May 1, 2026.
The associations argue that all three rulemakings are inextricably tied to the OCC framework, which remains unfinished. Without clarity on the OCC’s final rule, particularly how it governs nonbank stablecoin issuers, they argue it is impossible to meaningfully assess how federal and state requirements will align.
“A fragmented comment process with staggered, compressed deadlines across interdependent proposals will undermine the agencies’ own stated goal of regulatory consistency across the GENIUS Act implementation framework” the groups stated, noting that the FDIC’s proposal explicitly attempts to align with the OCC’s pending rule.
Holistic review of complex rules
The letter was signed by the American Bankers Association (ABA), the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).
The groups emphasized that the GENIUS Act rulemaking process spans multiple agencies and is expected to generate even more proposals from regulators like the Federal Reserve, making the landscape extraordinarily complex.
They warned that staggered deadlines across interdependent proposals could lead to fragmented feedback and reduce the overall effectiveness of public consultation.
Coordinated stablecoin oversight and the yield debate
The GENIUS Act represents a sweeping effort to establish a unified regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the U.S., covering issuer standards, 1:1 reserve backing, and strict anti-money laundering requirements before it officially takes effect in early 2027.
However, the implementation has drawn immense political and industry friction. The debate over whether Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuers (PPSIs) can pay yield to stablecoin holders has become the most contested feature of the rollout. The President Donald Trump administration and crypto-native platforms like Coinbase have heavily scrutinized the FDIC and OCC’s proposals which seek to establish strict prohibitions on passing stablecoin yields to users, a restriction that traditional banking organizations strongly support to prevent deposit flight.
Banking groups maintain that extending the deadlines would allow stakeholders to provide more comprehensive and coordinated feedback, helping regulators achieve consistency across the system.
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