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 absence of modern charters and licenses, payments companies and other fintechs—both established financial services providers and new market entrants—must generally obtain 50+ money transmitter and possibly other state...more
This article is the first in a series that will address privacy concerns for insurance carriers, agents and brokers. The insurance industry is uniquely situated at the confluence of multiple data privacy regimes....more
Becoming or owning an industrial loan company (or ILC)—the elusive "nonbank bank" option, as Congress coined the term in 1987— still has an allure for financial services providers that want to (1) lend on a national scale...more
At a Brookings Institution event on June 20, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, a top antitrust official for the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ or Department), announced that the Department will reassess its approach...more
The Federal Reserve Board recently updated sections of the Bank Holding Company Supervision Manual. (Changes to the manual were last made in November 2021.) The manual provides guidance for conducting inspections of bank...more
New Rule Effective as of September 30 - The Federal Reserve’s revised control framework under the Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA) and Home Owners’ Loan Act (HOLA) issued on January 30, 2020 became effective on September 30...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
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) issued a much-anticipated final rule (Final Rule) on January 30 to amend and codify—in certain respects, for the first time—its framework for making...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
On August 20, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) approved a final rule (the “2019 Final Rule”) to amend the rules implementing Section 13 of the...more
The Federal Reserve Board’s proposed Bank Holding Company Act and Home Owners’ Loan Act control regulations, published in late April, are the culmination of a long-promised initiative by Board officials to bring clarity to a...more
The Federal Reserve Board has published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking with request for comment on a proposal to simplify and increase transparency of its rules for determining control of a banking...more
Many have believed that the national bank “fintech charter” is an ideal solution to providing marketplace consumer loans on a 50-state basis. ...more
On April 23, 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”) released a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) to revise regulations related to the determination of “control” under the Bank Holding...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