The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published details on its fintech charter in a 16-page supplement to its existing OCC licensing manual; the fintech charter supplement addresses capital requirements, liquidity, financial inclusion plans, consumer protection and the application process; Lend Academy provides an analysis in their article; the release of the fintech charter will now be followed by an open comment period which ends on April 14; also noteworthy is that Thomas Curry's term as comptroller ends on April 9 however he can serve until a replacement is confirmed. Source
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika confirmed that the fintech charter was open to commercial firms like Walmart & Google; this is a departure from former OCC head Thomas Curry who said the charter was designed for companies primarily involved in financial services; Mr. Noreika talked through this issue and others wile speaking at a fintech conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Source.
Thomas Curry spent most of his speech at LendIt USA refuting arguments against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) fintech charter and the agency's authority for establishing the charter however controversial factors affecting the charter's implementation were the primary topic for discussion on a LendIt USA panel; while panelists generally agreed that more regulatory clarity is needed for financial innovation overall, panelists were divided on the need for a fintech charter to regulate fintech firms; panelists reported that fintech chartering could potentially promote partnerships with banks through more standardized regulation however it seems the fintech charter is far from ready to match the broad ranging fintech variants for which it's trying to target. Source
Manatt provides an overview of some of the comments received by the OCC on the proposed fintech charter; the New York Department of Financial Services was critical of the charter; the American Bankers Association is supportive of the charter "...as long as existing rules and oversight are applied consistent with those for any national bank"; the Financial Services Roundtable also spoke in favor of the charter, commending the OCC for its development of the proposal; also highlighted are responses from the Consumer Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America. Source
While speaking at an event at Georgetown Law School Acting OCC Head Keith Noreika defended the proposed fintech charter; Mr. Noreika also took questions on the fear of commercial companies being granted banking charters; “A national bank charter is a special thing, and the OCC will not undermine its value by granting charters to companies that are not ready to meet our admittedly high expectations” said Noreika. Source.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its fintech charter in March; many state regulators oppose the charter saying the OCC doesn't have the authority to offer the charter and that the charter is dangerous, unnecessary and violates state sovereignty; Brian Knight from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University discusses these arguments and how state legislation may evolve with the introduction and debate of the fintech charter. Source
I started writing about marketplace lending back in 2010, so I have spent almost the entire decade immersed in this...
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We’ve been following the OCC Fintech Charter since it was first formally proposed in December 2016. Since then it has...
As we continue to hear more from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) about their new fintech charter, the question comes to mind: is the regulator taking the right approach?; fintech companies are beginning to disrupt many different facets of the financial system, coming up with a singular charter could be limiting and hurt innovation; the OCC has stated that this new charter from their point of view is just one of many options a firm can choose when looking at regulation; having regulators at every level think outside the box will help innovation overall and this also can help to discover an approach not yet seen. Source
According to Stephen Lybarger, deputy comptroller of licensing at the OCC, the new OCC fintech charter might be better suited for...