New Fed banking chief targeting crypto and climate change as top priorities

cnbc.com:

The Federal Reserve's new banking regulator outlined a broad agenda in a speech Wednesday that pushed for action on stablecoins, climate change preparations and both the safety and fairness of the finance industry.

Fed Governor Michael Barr, whose title of vice chair for supervision gives him broad powers over the nation's banks, gave his first policy speech since being confirmed by the Senate.

Among his priorities: a push for Congress to enact comprehensive regulation over stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to other assets, often currencies.

He also said that next year the Fed will launch an exercise «to better assess the long-term, climate-related financial risks facing the largest institutions.»

And he said a push for a system that is not only financially sound but also fair, particularly to those at the lower end of the income spectrum with less access to banking services, would be a major priority.

«Fairness is fundamental to financial oversight, and I am committed to using the tools of regulation, supervision, and enforcement so that businesses and households have access to the services they need, the information necessary to make their financial decisions, and protection from unfair treatment,» Barr said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Barr presides now over a financial system that is generally thought to be well capitalized but was still hit by market disruptions requiring Fed intervention in the early days of the Covid crisis. The rise of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins also has posed challenges for the Fed, which is exploring a potential digital currency of its own.

He called for increased scrutiny of the crypto industry and the risks that it poses.

«Stablecoins, like other