FDIC extends comment period on de novo bank process

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has extended the comment period through next month for the public to weigh in on the application process for new banks.

The FDIC began seeking comments in December through a "request for information" on how to improve the agency's process for considering new deposit insurance applications.

But following the original comment deadline of Monday, the FDIC posted only 10 letters as of Tuesday. The comment period will now close on March 31 in order to gather more responses, the FDIC said.

“The extended comment period provides more opportunity for those interested in the deposit insurance application process to contribute to our efforts to improve the application process," said FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams.

So far, the comment letters submitted to the agency are mostly from bank and fintech industry groups requesting measures to attract more interest in forming startup banks.

“At the start of 2010, there were over 8,000 chartered banks, but recent data show that number has fallen to just under 5,450,” wrote Shaun Kern, senior counsel in the office of regulatory policy at the American Bankers Association, in a letter to the FDIC.

“More important, the chartering of new banks helps to meet the needs of more customers and communities, brings new energy into the ranks of bankers, and demonstrates the vitality of the banking industry while being a measure of investor confidence in its future.”

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Deposit insurance De novo institutions Licenses and charters Regulatory relief Jelena McWilliams FDIC
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