Stablecoins are a relatively new means of exchange within the payments system. They have many of the characteristics of money, serving as a store of value and a medium of exchange, although they do not serve as a unit of account. Stablecoin issuers tie their currency, unit-for-unit, to the national currency, and to assure confidence in its value, the issuers hold acceptable assets as reserves denominated in the national currency. Such reserves are invested in relatively safe assets that provide a return sufficient to pay interest to the holders of stablecoins while also earning the issuer a profit. …
Brainard’s Nomination Promotes a Close Powell Ally on Recent Fed Innovations
President Biden’s decision to nominate Lael Brainard to become Federal Reserve vice chairwoman elevates a veteran policy maker and economist who has been a strong ally of Chairman Jerome Powell on the central bank’s boldest policy decisions during the pandemic....
Biden’s Comptroller Pick Will Decimate Community Banking
During my career at BB&T we frequently encountered government regulators who believed they knew best how we should operate and to whom we should be making loans. Most often, we had no choice but to reduce our lending activity because...
When NASDAQ Attacks! The Problem with Mandated Diversity Quotas for Corporate Boards
Money and the Constitution
Ratified between 1771 and 1781, the Articles of Confederation remained in force until they were superseded by the Constitution in 1788. In force for seven years, the Articles formalized some preexisting institutions such as the Continental Congress, but made no provision for a federal executive branch, and very limited provisions for a federal judiciary—one of the few crimes tried in the new federal courts was piracy, leaving nearly all other offenses to the states to prosecute. During this period, Congress requisitioned financial support from the states in proportion to their population, but these assessments were routinely ignored, or fulfilled only in part. The Articles gave Congress no authority to issue money or levy taxes. …
