The Atlanta, Georgia-based bank joined the Federal Reserve System in 1947 and is classified as a minority depository institution. Citizens Trust Bank, an FDIC-regulated financial institution, has partnered with Circle Internet Financial to hold a portion of its reserves in USD tokens - The company says the move will promote financial inclusion and digital literacy in the greater Atlanta area.
On Feb. 24, Circle announced that Atlanta-based Citizens Trust Bank will hold $65 million in USDC reserves as part of a broader collaboration between the two firms. The bank’s USDC reserves will provide small businesses access to capital and be used for other financial inclusion initiatives. Cynthia N. Day, president and CEO of Citizens Trust, said holding USDC would also improve banks’ balance sheets.
Citizens Trust Bank is classified by the FDIC as a minority-owned depository institution (MDI), meaning that a majority of its voting stock or board of directors are minority-owned. The bank joined the Federal Reserve System in 1947.
The bank added $220 million in deposits in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, the last year for which information is publicly available, Citizens issued $157 million worth of commercial, consumer and residential mortgages.
Citizens Trust is not the only U.S. financial institution holding USDC reserves. As Cointelegraph reported, Bank of New York Mellon, Client Bank, New York Community Bank, Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank also hold USDC on their balance sheets. Stablecoin settlements have grown in tandem with the decentralized finance boom of the past two years, with more and more users relying on dollar-pegged assets to maintain collateral, trade cryptocurrencies and earn yield. However, the use of stablecoins for payments remains low due to regulatory hurdles.
