American Banker reports on the lobbying group called Financial Innovation Now and that some technology giants are meeting individually with government agencies; Amazon met with the OCC starting in the second quarter of 2016 and met again this year; PayPal has also met with OCC officials in several quarters last year. Source
While giving a speech the acting head of the OCC stated that banks need more competition not less; he also commented on companies like Amazon or Apple becoming banks, Noreika states; “Laws that prevent companies with resources and means from becoming competitor banks only serve to protect existing big banks from would-be rivals”; as Crowdfund Insider reports the benefits of having big tech companies become banks could help to lower cost, increase access and help to serve those who might be left behind by traditional banks. Source.
The new head of the OCC, Joseph Otting, reaffirms the agency’s support of the fintech charter. Source
The case put forward by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors which challenged the OCC’s fintech charter has been dismissed...
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The OCC Fintech Charter was formally proposed back in December 2016. Along with many other organizations we responded to their...
Keith Noreika, the acting Comptroller of the Currency recently signed the first full-service de novo national bank charter since the financial crisis to Winter Park National Bank of Florida; Noreika believes there are still too few new banks and part of the problem is the onerous process; Noreika outlines the lengthy process and discusses his suggested changes in his testimony back in June. Source
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has shifted back to a softer stance since the Trump administration took office; according to the New York Times the agency is using directives from the interim head to ease back regulations enacted during the Obama administration; the move is part of a wider push to set back financial regulations that some say have hurt banks in recent years. Source.
Leaders at the Federal Reserve, the OCC and the CFPB spoke at the Consumer Bankers Association annual conference about the need to be more flexible when applying oversight to bank & fintech partnerships; “We need to do a better job of educating our supervision staff, in some cases, in terms of interpretation of the guidance,” said Dan Quan, who leads the CFPB’s Project Catalyst, as reported by American Banker; they also talked about better coordination to ensure consistency in oversight. Source.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a national bank regulator, said yesterday that it encourages financial firms...
Otting said Wednesday to reporters that no firms considering the OCC Fintech Charter have mentioned concerns about the Fed standing...