ILCs

The Independent Community Bankers of America is formally opposing a bank charter application by payments processor Square, accusing it of trying to “avoid” certain “legal prohibitions and restrictions.”

Cynthia Blankenship, an executive at Bank of the West in Grapevine, Texas, has been a regular in Washington for years fighting for regulatory changes. She is encouraging other bankers to do likewise.

Meetings between bank regulators and technology giants like Amazon and PayPal underscore Silicon Valley's growing involvement in the financial services arena, and may presage pursuit of a bank charter.

Arthur Levitt says seemingly daily scandals highlight the lack of oversight and corporate governance shortcomings of financial technology firms, but two marketplace lending executives responded that more mature companies have just as many problems.

Readers chime in on debates about ILCs, the CFPB’s arbitration rule, the financial services ambitions of tech firms and more.

The payments processor Square has big plans in banking — but even after filing an application to charter an industrial loan company, it still doesn’t see itself as a competitor to most financial institutions.

The Independent Community Bankers of America had initially called for a moratorium in response to SoFi's application, and says now that Square's bid "has significantly increased our concerns."

Parents of IBs are exempt from bank holding company supervision by the central bank, but that is a strength, not a weakness.

Square became the third fintech firm in recent months to seek out a bank charter. Others are likely to follow.

Many of the arguments in this debate have less to do with the applicants’ qualifications than with traditional banks’ fear of new, innovative competitors.

Readers opine on Square’s applying for an industrial loan company charter, the Federal Reserve’s role in faster payments, assumptions about operational security, and more.

Company is third fintech firm in the past few months to seek its own bank charter; vice chair’s departure gives Trump four vacancies to fill on the Federal Reserve Board.

The company's application, which is expected to be announced as early as Thursday, comes after the online lender SoFi applied in June for an industrial loan charter. The bank is expected to be led by a former Green Dot executive.

The debate over the separation of banking and commerce has come roaring back, but instead of Walmart in a spotlight role, many banks have centered on a player they see as the new villain: fintech.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is calling on the FDIC to hold a public hearing on SoFi's application for deposit insurance.

Readers weigh in on the tax-exempt status of credit unions, SoFi's application for an industrial loan company charter, ideas for mortgage policy reforms and more.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika is using his short time in office to open a debate about the separation of banking and commerce, which he says is anti-competitive, stifles diversification and may limit regulators' options in times of crisis.

Not only did Walmart's bid for an industrial loan company galvanize bankers, it also turned the ILC world upside down.

More than a decade after Walmart’s unsuccessful banking bid, the core reasons to oppose nonbank conglomerates owning banks remain the same.

As the interest of fintech firms in the banking system brings a focus on the industrial bank charter once again to Washington, it is necessary to dispel a few misconceptions.