The Georgia Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) offers a compelling alternative to traditional sponsor bank models by enabling payment processors to directly access card networks like Visa and Mastercard without...more
Industrial banks or industrial loan companies (ILCs)—FDIC-insured banks chartered by certain states, notably Utah—have long been a niche component of the U.S. financial system. These institutions may be owned by commercial...more
The Trump Administration has made clear that it intends to lessen the barriers to bank merger and acquisition activity. As we previously noted, the FDIC has moved to lower some of the impediments to mergers under its 2024...more
In the News. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) proposed rules to modernize the regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA); the Conference of State Bank Supervisors...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
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
In This Issue. Federal financial regulators brought January to an impactful conclusion last week. On the morning of January 30, five federal financial regulators issued a proposed rule that would fundamentally modify the...more
In a press release, the organizers of Varo Bank, N.A. announced they have been granted preliminary approval by the OCC of their application to form a de novo national bank, which they claim “put[s] Varo on track to become the...more
On July 31, 2018 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that, effective immediately, it is now accepting national bank charter applications from nondepository financial technology (fintech) companies...more
On May 30, 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”) issued a proposal (the “Proposed Rule”) to amend the rules implementing Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the...more
Some bankers view the rapid rise of “fintech” as an existential threat to traditional banks, especially community banks. But while fintech surely is changing financial services, it is also creating new opportunities for...more
In remarks last week at Georgetown University’s Institute of International Economic Law’s Fintech Week event, Acting OCC Comptroller Keith Noreika provided the “latest on our thinking regarding a charter for fintech companies...more