In January 2024, one of the largest U.S. non-bank merchant acquirers announced that it is pursuing a special-purpose bank charter developed by Georgia. Although the “merchant acquirer limited purpose bank” (MALPB) has been a...more
This is the third installment of our series evaluating the choice between starting a “new” bank through the de novo chartering process or purchasing an existing bank to implement the new business plan. Since we first wrote on...more
One of the beauties of the national banking system is that it allows state-chartered banks to offer uniform credit products across the 50 states without having to worry about state interest rate caps. This concept - rate...more
In Cantero vs. Bank of America, N.A., mortgage borrowers are asking the Supreme Court of the United States to reverse a Second Circuit ruling that federally-chartered banks need not comply with state laws that require the...more
Recently, several financial technology (“Fintech”) organizations have applied for – and been granted – banking charter licenses. For example, in May 2019, Grasshopper was approved for a charter issued by the Office of the...more
I. Introduction - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) continues along its cautious course of allowing fintech and digital asset firms into the so-called “regulatory perimeter,” not through any special...more
The OCC announced this week that it has conditionally approved applications from Social Finance Inc. (SoFi) to create SoFi Bank, National Association (SoFi Bank, N.A.), as a full service national bank headquartered in...more
The D.C. federal district court hearing the lawsuit filed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) seeking to block the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency from granting a national bank charter to Figure...more
In This Issue. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted preliminary conditional approval to a third cryptocurrency firm chartering a national trust bank; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)...more
The OCC granted preliminary conditional approval on April 23 to an application to charter Paxos National Trust (Paxos) as an uninsured national trust bank. Paxos, which currently operates as a New York state-charted limited...more
Industrial bank charters continue to gain momentum with approval of Square’s charter; payments and tech companies have become interested in industrial banks lately since the FDIC started approving them after a moratorium from...more
Intel has ousted CEO Robert Swan “as the company faces pressure from an activist investor and grapples with the loss of leadership in producing ultrafast chips.” Swan had been at the helm since January 2019...more
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal district court to block the OCC from granting a national bank charter to Figure Technologies Inc. According to the complaint, Figure,...more
The OCC recently finalized two broad updates to its regulations that increase flexibility for regulatory filings, including for corporate transactions such as business combinations, and update and clarify permissible...more
On December 7, 2020, several bank and credit union trade associations (collectively, the “Associations”) submitted a joint letter (the “Letter”) to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) opposing the...more
Federal Banking Agencies Issue New Guidance on Managing the LIBOR Transition - The member agencies of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) have issued joint guidance for banking organizations...more
Ballard Spahr LLP has submitted a comment letter to the OCC in support of its proposed rule, “National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders” (the “Proposed Rule”)....more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter (Letter) on July 22, 2020, stating that national banks and federal savings associations have the authority to provide custody services for...more
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter on July 22 allowing national banks and federal savings associations (FSAs) to provide cryptocurrency custody services to their customers in...more
Despite often operating on a nationwide scale, fintech companies rarely meet the stringent requirements for obtaining a national banking charter. Under the current regulatory landscape, these companies must therefore secure...more
On July 31, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved the national bank charter application of Varo Bank, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of fintech Varo Money, Inc. The approved application is for a...more
Following ongoing efforts to promote the expansiveness of the national bank charter, on July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter confirming the authority of a national...more
As we reported, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has previewed the OCC’s plans to introduce another special purpose national bank charter that would give payment companies a nationwide servicing platform and...more
On July 31, 2020, Varo Money Inc. announced that it was granted a national bank charter by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The charter will allow Varo, a mobile banking fintech, to launch a national...more
A new Payments Charter could enable entities to engage in payments-related activities on a nationwide basis, rather than by state. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) newly appointed Acting...more