Goldman Sachs believes the largest U.S. banks are likely to moderate capital deployment as regulatory buffers rise for a third consecutive year and excess capital levels shrink. ^[1] The top seven global systemically important banks hold an estimated $78 billion of excess capital, which Goldman Sachs projects will fall to $55 billion in 2027 and $20 billion in 2028 as prior G-SIB increases take effect with a two-year lag, and could swing to a $21 billion deficit by 2029 after factoring in higher buffers. ^[2] Heath Tarbert, President of Circle Internet Group and former chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on 2026-09-02, urging Congress to protect the U.S. dollar's global leadership by supporting digital financial infrastructure. ^[3] Tarbert advocated for full implementation of the GENIUS Act, which aims to regulate stablecoin issuance, and for bipartisan passage of the CLARITY Act to provide a clear legal framework for digital assets, during his 2026-09-02 testimony. ^[4] Goldman Sachs said in a note released on Wednesday that it expects lenders to pull back on capital deployment, citing falling excess capital, G-SIB scores that have increased year-to-date after rising in both 2024 and 2025, and pending final details on regulatory capital reform. ^[5] Goldman Sachs said none of the top five global systemically important banks is expected to mitigate scores enough to drop a G-SIB bucket by the end of 2026. ^[6] BNY Mellon announced on 2026-06-29 that it expanded support for Circle's USDC stablecoin, including minting and burning services for institutional clients. ^[7] On 2026-07-10, Circle received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank. ^[8]