Bailey: FSB Chair’s letter to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are issuing this statement for banking organizations1 that provide or are considering providing safekeeping for crypto-assets.2 For purposes of this statement, “safekeeping” is defined as the service of holding an asset on a customer’s behalf.3 The agencies recognize that crypto-asset custodians may provide other custody services4 while safekeeping crypto-assets. This statement focuses on safekeeping. This statement discusses how existing laws, regulations, and risk-management principles5 apply to this activity, and does not create any new supervisory expectations. Banking organizations may provide safekeeping for crypto-assets in a fiduciary or a nonfiduciary capacity.6 Banking organizations that provide crypto-asset safekeeping in a fiduciary capacity must comply with 12 CFR 9 or 150, as applicable, state laws and regulations, and any other applicable legal provisions, such as the instrument that created the fiduciary relationship. A banking organization providing safekeeping for crypto-assets in a fiduciary capacity—such as a trustee, an executor of a will, an administrator of an estate, or an investment advisor—has the authority to manag FED, FDIC and OCC issue joint statement on crypto custody. US bank regulators provide blueprint for lenders holding crypto.