OCC

Bank regulators traditionally steer clear of more divisive debates in a polarized Washington. But some observers worry acting Comptroller Brian Brooks has gone too far by wading into issues such as public health orders and banks' decisions to curtail services to the gun and fossil fuel industries.

Several consumer advocacy organizations have urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to deny the online lender's application for a national bank charter, citing concerns about its lending and debt-collection practices.

A Biden-appointed comptroller could refocus resources and attention to these issues and put less effort into fighting the ongoing fintech charter battle.

Brian Brooks, the acting comptroller of the currency, used a selective (and dubious) interpretation of the Dodd-Frank Act to argue for more say on when banks can preempt state law.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, the agency issued a new legal theory of its power to let national banks evade state consumer protection laws. But some state attorneys general and consumer groups charge the federal regulator is attempting to sidestep restrictions imposed by Dodd-Frank.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors filed a complaint arguing that the unique bid by the San Francisco fintech is "merely a thinly veiled effort" to evade legal challenges to the federal regulator's chartering of nonbanks.

The agency said it may exempt certain institutions from having to file suspicious activity reports if they have “innovative solutions intended to meet Bank Secrecy Act requirements more efficiently and effectively." But in those circumstances, law enforcement may still require SARs.

The percentage of seriously delinquent loans hit 5.8% in the third quarter, up from 1.5% a year earlier but down from 6.8% in the second quarter.

Federal banking agencies want to give the industry a hard deadline for notifying their regulators about serious security breaches and failed system upgrades.

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