US President Biden is pushing for a coordinated approach to crypto oversight as the United States risks losing ground to China.
US President Joe Biden will order government agencies to begin work on creating a digital US dollar.
Amid the explosive rise of private cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the US effort will study benefits and potential risks while “placing urgency on research and development of a potential United States CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency),” according to a White House statement on Wednesday.
US officials said Biden is set to sign an executive order requiring the government to assess the risks and benefits of creating a central bank digital dollar.
Biden’s order will require the US Treasury Department, the Commerce Department and other key agencies to prepare reports on “the future of money” and the role cryptocurrencies will play.
Wide-ranging oversight of the cryptocurrency market, which surged past $3 trillion in November, is essential to ensure US national security, financial stability and US competitiveness, and stave off the growing threat of cyber crime, officials said.
Analysts view the long-awaited executive order, first reported on Monday, as a stark acknowledgement of the growing importance of cryptocurrencies and their potential consequences for the US and global financial systems.
In January, the US Federal Reserve kicked the question of whether the United States should pursue a digital dollar to Congress, leading analysts to predict such a project would take years.
But one official said the United States would move forward with developing a digital dollar, albeit with care given the dollar’s role as the world’s primary reserve currency.
“We’ve got to be very, very deliberate about that analysis because the implications of our moving in this direction are profound for the country that issues the world’s primary reserve currency,” the official said.
The order also encourages the Federal Reserve to continue research and development efforts.
Dollar decline
Nine countries have launched central bank digital currencies, and 16 others – including China – have begun development of such digital assets, according to the Atlantic Council, leading some in Washington to worry that the dollar could lose some of its dominance to China.
In addition, the order asks agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to review other issues raised by cryptocurrencies, including systemic risk and consumer protection.
One key objective is to redress inefficiencies in the current US payments system and boost financial inclusion, especially of poor Americans about 5 percent of whom do not currently have bank accounts due to high fees, one official said.
“Before today, there hadn’t previously been an organised effort to bring together the expertise and authorities of the entire US government to inform a holistic approach to digital assets,” another official added.
The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Monday officially announced the launch of two new home loan products; the Home Build Loan and the Home Equity Loan.
The new loan facilities have been introduced to cater to the growing customer needs for home construction and renovation, BML said.
The new Home Build Loan has been designed to allow individuals to borrow up to MVR 1 million without any additional security. The facility provides a repayment period of over 15 years, which is ideal in renovation projects or larger home construction projects across the Maldives.
The bank also, for the first time, has introduced Home Equity Loan for existing Home Loan and Financing customers. This new facility enables these customers to borrow up to the repaid amount, or the usable equity, of the primary loans. The Home Equity Loan is offered for borrowings of more than MVR 50,000 with a repayment period of 20 years.
Moosa Nimal, the Director of Retail and SME Banking said, “These products are designed to make access to finance easier for our customers across the country.”
“The new Home Build Loan does not require any additional security and will allow customers to build or renovate homes at the most competitive market rates. Our Home Equity Loan offers our existing home financing customers to access usable equity available on their property, at a low rate of just 10%.”
The newly introduced loan facilities are available for BML Islamic customers as well.
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) has entered an agreement, aiming to expedite and streamline the registering services for businesses. The agreement was signed to enhance the quality of services, ensure information security, and facilitate an efficient registration process.
Following the signing of the agreement, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed disclosed that customer data can be readily verified with the assistance of the ministry’s Application Programming Interface (API). The minister stated that this would enable businesses to set up bank accounts in a convenient manner. Regarding this, Registrar of Companies Mariyam Waheed underscored the pivotal role API will play in authenticating businesses to customers and expediting in the verification process.
This initiative will significantly benefit individuals accessing online services from the ministry, fostering economic development within the nation. This marks the first agreement of its kind signed by the ministry.
Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has reported a staggering 82.9% net profit decline for Q1-2024.
According to MTCC, it earned just MVR 5.2 million in net profit for the review quarter, which came down from MVR 30.8 million in the last quarter of 2023.
The company’s revenue for Q1-2024 stood at MVR 664.4 million, which is a 15.8% drop from MVR 789.2 million generated in the Q4-2023.
Moreover, MTCC reported a whopping 94.5% decline in its Gross Profit for the review quarter, registering MVR 2.5 million in Q1-2024 compared to MVR 44.3 million.
The operating profit for the review quarter stood at MVR 41.8 million, which is a 26% drop from MVR 56.5 million in Q3-2023.
The net asset value per share dropped from MVR 227.95 in Q4-2023 to MVR 226.98 to Q1-2024, while earnings per share saw a notable decline from MVR 3.83 in the preceding quarter to just MVR 0.65 in the review quarter.