Twenty-one leading international financial institutions announced on September 1 that they have committed to establish a new company in the second half of 2026 to support the issuance of a US dollar-denominated stablecoin. In a joint statement, the group said the new entity, whose name has not yet been disclosed, will operate globally and aims to bring its stablecoin to market in the first half of 2027, subject to closing conditions.
Who Is Behind the New Company
The consortium spans major financial centers across North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. North American participants include Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, PNC Financial Services, Scotiabank, TD Bank Group, Wells Fargo and WisdomTree. European members include Banco Santander, BBVA, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Rabobank and UBS, alongside MUFG Bank in East Asia, Sirius International Holding in the Middle East and Standard Bank in Africa.
A USD-First Rollout With G7 Ambitions
The initiative will begin with a US dollar stablecoin and later expand into other G7 currencies, with a euro offering named as an immediate priority. The group said the product will combine bank-grade compliance, governance, distribution and institutional risk management, and will target wholesale, institutional and retail use cases such as cross-border payments and digital asset settlements. The venture is intended to be compliant with the GENIUS Act in the United States and MiCA in the European Union, as applicable.
From Ten Banks to Twenty-One
The announcement builds on an October 2025 statement, when an initial group of ten banks said it was exploring a 1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money available on public blockchains. The consortium has since grown to twenty-one institutions, a sign of how traditional lenders are moving toward on-chain settlement. The move parallels other stablecoin policy shifts, including Singapore’s proposed licensing regime and a UK-US regulatory bridge for cross-border payments. Boston Consulting Group and Brunswick Group are acting as advisers, and the group said it will share further updates, including the company name and launch details, as the initiative progresses. The expansion from ten to twenty-one institutions signals that the world’s largest banks are treating stablecoins as core payment infrastructure rather than a peripheral experiment.