FSB Resolution Chair Urges Cross-Border Planning for Stablecoin Crises

Financial Stability Board Resolution Steering Group Chair Dominique Laboureix urged authorities to include stablecoins and other deposit-like arrangements in cross-border crisis planning as digital finance creates new operational risks.

Speaking in Berlin on Thursday, Oct. 29, Laboureix grouped stablecoins with tokenized deposits, deposit-placement platforms and sweep arrangements. He said these arrangements challenge established expectations around deposit insurance and called on authorities to examine the financial claims they create, who stands behind them and what protections apply if something goes wrong.

“Stablecoins, for instance, challenge established assumptions about how money is held and transferred, and about where financial intermediation takes place,” Laboureix said. He said his remarks reflected his views as steering group chair and did not necessarily represent the FSB or its members.

The crisis-planning concerns also include operational disruptions. Laboureix said cyber incidents and failures at shared technology providers can interrupt services across multiple institutions. Preparedness should cover how authorities keep critical functions running or restore them when prevention fails.

He called for deposit insurers, resolution authorities, supervisors and central banks to coordinate across borders. That work should cover prevention, early intervention, recovery and resolution, as well as steps to restore confidence.

Laboureix said the Resolution Steering Group recently discussed stablecoin crisis management and responses to operational incidents. Earlier FSB proposals addressed cross-border preparation for stablecoin reserve crises.