OCC

BitPay and Paxos are only the latest digital currency companies to pursue a national charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The initiative is the latest offshoot of Project REACh, which was developed by the OCC over the summer to bring together bankers, community leaders and civil rights organizers in an attempt to expand access to credit.

The Bank Policy Institute submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency requesting the agency's analysis used in crafting the plan.

The reduction marks the third time in three years the agency has cut annual fees for national banks.

The OCC, Federal Reserve and FDIC said that a failure to adequately prepare for the transition away from Libor could undermine banks' safety and soundness, but also extended the sunset date for many iterations of the interest rate benchmark to July 2023.

The industry is asking for more time to comment on a regulatory proposal that aims to prohibit banks from denying services to oil and gas companies and other firms in politically sensitive industries.

The plan still lacks concrete details about standards banks must meet to earn high ratings, but the agency said the new methodology would end grade inflation and could penalize banks that underperform.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says JPMorgan Chase’s fiduciary unit lacked sufficient controls to manage risk and avoid conflicts of interest.

The California company, which filed an application Monday with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is following a path charted by Varo Money and SoFi.

The agency said federal thrifts must abide by the same rules as national banks pertaining to membership in payment systems and codified policies on acceptable derivatives practices among a slew of technical changes.

Participation in the Paycheck Protection Program and other emergency lending during the pandemic has swelled many small banks’ balance sheets. Federal regulators are giving them a temporary pass on supervisory requirements tied to their size.

Some large banks have come under fire from the GOP for curbing services to firms in controversial industries, such as firearms and fossil fuels. A proposal by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency aims to block banks from taking such stances.

If Congress speeds through Brian Brooks’ confirmation in the waning days of the Trump administration, it could make it harder for President-elect Biden to quickly put his stamp on banking policy.

The Trump administration said it has picked Brian Brooks, who has led the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in an acting capacity, to be considered by the Senate for a five-year term. But it is unclear whether he would stay on during the incoming administration of Joe Biden.

Among the core changes in the regulation, more national banks will be able to use the agency's expedited review process to approve certain corporate transactions.

Regulators were receptive to Republican lawmakers' calls to ease burdens on banks that cross new asset thresholds as a result of their participation in the Paycheck Protection Program.

“We’re going to be looking at … what caused us to not be able to close some of these gaps in the past,” Citigroup's new Chief Administrative Officer Karen Peetz says of the effort to fix shortcomings in internal controls that have plagued the company for years.

While national banks have remained strong during the pandemic, they are still navigating risks from a murky credit environment and other potential warnings signs, according to a report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The statement comes after multiple small and midsize institutions earlier this year warned the agencies that the secured overnight financing rate was ill-suited to them.

Figure Technologies, the home equity lender founded by the former CEO of SoFi, is seeking a national bank charter so it can offer more products and services while reducing the need for state-by-state licenses.