On September 9, the OCC announced it had elevated and renamed its chartering and licensing function, naming Stephen Lybarger as Senior Deputy Comptroller for Chartering, Organization and Structure. Lybarger will oversee licensing for national banks, federal savings associations, payment stablecoin issuers, and structural proposals, coordinating with OCC legal and supervisory staff. The OCC stated that the change is intended to ensure “appropriate and timely” evaluation of licensing applications and to support competition in the federal banking system.
Comptroller Jonathan Gould said this move “reflects the strategic value of these functions” and “affirms the OCC’s support for the formation of de novo banks, signals its openness to considering business combinations that foster competition and better support consumers and communities, and recognizes [its] new remit to license payment stablecoin issuers.”
The announcement follows the passage of the GENIUS Act — previously covered by InfoBytes here — which expanded the OCC’s authority over nonbank stablecoin issuers.
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