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In October 2025, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) issued a series of letters opposing efforts by several digital asset and payment firms to secure federal banking charters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). BPI raised concerns that these companies are seeking trust charters even though, in BPI's view, they will not operate as traditional chartered financial institutions.
BPI argues that the OCC lacks authority to grant the digital asset firms' request for trust charters because the firms plan to engage in traditional banking activities, including managing stablecoin reserves, facilitating payments, and taking deposits. In BPI's view, approving these applications could exceed the OCC's authority under federal law and transform trust charters into a loophole for companies to gain the regulatory and operational benefits of charters, while avoiding the increased compliance burdens of full-service bank charters.
Other industry groups, including the American Bankers Association and the Consumer Bankers Association raised similar concerns over the summer. Some commenters, however, question whether the banking industry's resistance is driven by a desire to limit competition and slow the entry of fintech and digital asset firms into the federal banking system. BPI's statement emphasized that the organization supports bringing "innovative new products and services into the regulated ecosystem . . . provided that they are subject to the same rules and responsibilities as every other chartered institution engaging in the same activities." The tension between traditional banking institutions and digital asset firms is likely to continue into the near future as the OCC and other regulators consider where these digital asset firms fit within the larger financial ecosystem.
The post Industry Stakeholders Raise Concerns Over Fintech Trust Charter Applications appeared first on Consumer Finance Insights (CFI).
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