This part says banks and credit unions keep the powers they already have. They may take deposits and issue digital tokens for them. They may hold coins and keys for others. A bank need not count assets it holds for others as its own.
The document says “may not be construed”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 16 in the PDF
What the document says
“Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of a depository institution, Federal credit union, State credit union, national bank, or trust company to engage in activities permissible pursuant to applicable State and Federal law, including-- (1) accepting or receiving deposits or shares (in the case of a credit union), and issuing digital assets that represent those deposits or shares”
Subsection (a). Three activities are named: accepting or receiving deposits or shares and issuing digital assets that represent them, using a distributed ledger for the books and records of the entity and to effect intrabank transfers, and providing custodial services for payment stablecoins, private keys or reserves backing payment stablecoins. Section 2(22)(B)(ii) puts a deposit outside the definition of a payment stablecoin, including one recorded using distributed ledger technology.
What the document actually says
“Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of a depository institution, Federal credit union, State credit union, national bank, or trust company to engage in activities permissible pursuant to applicable State and Federal law, including-- (1) accepting or receiving deposits or shares (in the case of a credit union), and issuing digital assets that represent those deposits or shares”
That sentence, in plain words
This law does not cut back what banks may already do. They may still take deposits. They may put out digital tokens that stand for those deposits.
What this is about
Two more powers are named. A bank may keep its books on a shared ledger. It may hold coins and keys for its customers.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: primary Federal payment stablecoin regulatorsHow: statuteSec. 16 in the PDF
What the document says
“Entities regulated by the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators are authorized to engage in the payment stablecoin activities and investments contemplated by this Act, including acting as a principal or agent with respect to any payment stablecoin and payment of fees to facilitate customer transactions.”
Subsection (b). The regulators must review all existing guidance and regulations and, if necessary, amend or promulgate new regulations and guidance, to clarify that regulated entities are authorized to engage in those activities and investments.
What the document actually says
“Entities regulated by the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators are authorized to engage in the payment stablecoin activities and investments contemplated by this Act, including acting as a principal or agent with respect to any payment stablecoin and payment of fees to facilitate customer transactions.”
That sentence, in plain words
Firms watched by the federal bodies may take part in this work. They may act for themselves or for a customer. They may pay fees to make a trade go through.
What this is about
The watchdogs must go back over their old guidance. Where it is unclear, they must fix it. They may write new rules to say so.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: appropriate Federal banking agencies, National Credit Union Administration, Securities and Exchange CommissionHow: statuteSec. 16 in the PDF
What the document says
“(1) to include digital assets held in custody that are not owned by the entity as a liability on the financial statement or balance sheet of the entity, including payment stablecoin custody or safekeeping activities; or (2) to hold in custody or safekeeping regulatory capital against digital assets and reserves backing such assets described in section 4(a)(1)(A)”
Subsection (c). Three agencies are barred from requiring either thing of a depository institution, national bank, Federal or State credit union, trust company or affiliate: carrying custodied digital assets it does not own as a liability, or holding regulatory capital against those assets. The capital bar has an exception for what is necessary to mitigate operational risks inherent in custody or safekeeping, as determined by the appropriate Federal banking agency, the National Credit Union Administration, a State bank supervisor or a State credit union supervisor.
What the document actually says
“(1) to include digital assets held in custody that are not owned by the entity as a liability on the financial statement or balance sheet of the entity, including payment stablecoin custody or safekeeping activities; or (2) to hold in custody or safekeeping regulatory capital against digital assets and reserves backing such assets described in section 4(a)(1)(A)”
That sentence, in plain words
A bank may hold digital assets that belong to someone else. No agency may make it list them as a debt of its own. No agency may make it set aside capital against them.
What this is about
Capital is money a firm keeps back to take a loss. There is one carve out here. A watchdog may ask for capital against the risk of running the service itself.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “can”Who acts: State chartered depository institutionsHow: statuteSec. 16 in the PDF
What the document says
“A depository institution chartered under the banking laws of a State, that has a subsidiary that is a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, may engage in the business of money transmission or provide custodial services through the permitted payment stablecoin issuer in any State”
Subsection (d)(1). The sentence continues with the conditions the State-chartered depository institution must meet; the quotation stops before that phrase because the printer breaks the word across a line. Two conditions attach, both set by the home State: the institution must be required by home State law or regulation to establish and maintain adequate liquidity, and adequate capital, each regularly reassessed by the home State banking supervisor to take account of changes in the institution's financial condition and risk profile, including any uninsured deposits. Nothing in the section limits a host State bank regulator's authority to examine the subsidiary or its activities to ensure compliance with host State consumer protection laws it has specific jurisdiction to enforce, consistent with section 7(f).
What the document actually says
“A depository institution chartered under the banking laws of a State, that has a subsidiary that is a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, may engage in the business of money transmission or provide custodial services through the permitted payment stablecoin issuer in any State”
That sentence, in plain words
A bank chartered by a state may have an arm that makes these coins. Through that arm it may move money or hold assets. It may do so in any state.
What this is about
Its home state must require it to hold enough cash. Its home state must require enough capital too. The home state must check both on a regular basis.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “means”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 16 in the PDF
What the document says
“(1) Home state.--The term "home State" means the State by which the depository institution is chartered. (2) Host state.--The term "host State" means a State in which a depository institution establishes a branch, solicits customers, or otherwise engages in business activities, other than the home State.”
Subsection (e). The two terms are defined for this section. Section 7(f) uses the same pair to work out which State's laws apply to an out-of-State State qualified payment stablecoin issuer.
What the document actually says
“(1) Home state.--The term "home State" means the State by which the depository institution is chartered. (2) Host state.--The term "host State" means a State in which a depository institution establishes a branch, solicits customers, or otherwise engages in business activities, other than the home State.”
That sentence, in plain words
A bank's home state is the one that chartered it. A host state is any other state where it works. That covers a branch or a search for customers.
What this is about
The pair of terms matters for which laws apply. Part 7 uses them the same way. There they settle which state's rules a maker follows.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, Public Law 119-27, sec. 16, 139 Stat. 461 (2025). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm
This page
“Authority of Banking Institutions,” Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, section 16. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/guiding-establishing-national-innovation-u-s/section-16/ (retrieved August 26, 2026).
Cite the document when the claim is about what the document says. Cite this page when the indexing, the wording or the record of what has happened is what is being relied on.
What This Page Covers, and What It Leaves Out
Each distinct thing the section does: the rule of construction preserving existing banking powers with the three activities it names, the authorization of stablecoin activities and the duty to review existing guidance, the two things regulators may not require of a custodian, the interstate money transmission and custody permission for a State-chartered depository institution with an issuer subsidiary, and the two definitions the section uses.
The rule of construction in subsection (d)(2), preserving a host State bank regulator's power to examine, is recorded in the summary of the State-chartered institution proposal rather than as a separate entry.
The section works against the background of the State and Federal banking laws that already govern these institutions. Those laws are not indexed on this site, so what powers they grant is not recorded here.
