OCC to Make Available Special Purpose National Bank Charters to Fintech Companies

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While many fintech companies will welcome the regulatory approach, banks and state regulators have some concerns.

In a long-awaited move aimed at establishing some clarity around the regulatory framework for companies involved in offering innovative financial technology products and services, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) — which is the chartering authority and primary prudential regulator and supervisor of national banks — recently announced that it would move forward with a plan to allow certain financial technology (fintech) companies to become chartered under federal banking law as special purpose national banks. The OCC’s announcement was accompanied by a white paper entitled “Exploring Special Purpose National Bank Charters for Fintech Companies” (the White Paper), which discusses the proposal and seeks public comments and feedback by January 15, 2017. Integrating the fintech industry into the US bank regulatory regime has proven difficult because of the wide variety of companies operating in this area, including: marketplace lenders providing consumer loans, as well as companies that offer payment-related services, engage in digital currencies and distributed ledger technology, or provide financial planning and wealth management products. From the OCC’s perspective, providing fintech companies with the option to obtain a federal charter is in the public interest and is important to the dual state/federal banking system in the US and to promoting responsible innovation within the federal banking system.

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