OCC

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks pushed back on a recommendation from a task force — appointed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — suggesting that Congress should give the CFPB the authority to charter and regulate fintechs.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposal to ensure banking services are available to polarizing businesses contradicts long-standing guidance on managing reputational risk, big banks argue. But gun makers, energy firms and others say it would correct an injustice.

A panel appointed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Congress should consider authorizing the bureau — and not the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — to issue federal charters to fintech companies.

Seven states and the District of Columbia want to invalidate a new federal rule that threatens to hinder states’ power to cap interest rates on consumer loans.

Several government agencies have made deeper moves into crypto oversight, leaving a trail of angry executives and unresolved political questions. And there's still no sign of a central bank digital currency, leaving the U.S. at risk of falling behind other countries in the race to support faster payment processing.

The digital currency and related distributed-ledger technologies could "enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and stability of the provision of payments," according to an interpretive letter issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The next administration must halt the practice of allowing new entrants into the banking system to forgo a full Community Reinvestment Act exam.

The regulator's order moves the San Francisco-based company one step closer to becoming the first online lender to own a bank.

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.