US Bank Lobby Urges OCC to Pause Crypto Trust Charters Amid Stablecoin Uncertainty

The American Bankers Association (ABA) is urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to slow down on granting national bank charters to crypto and stablecoin firms, arguing that it should not approve more applications until it can show its supervision.

It’s also seeking answers on what happens if any of these crypto firms fail, and if such processes are solid, including clear receivership protocols.

That last part has to do a lot with FTX and other failed crypto businesses, like Celsius. Those are a reminder that crypto business models can fail quickly, ABA stated, and added the OCC should be more transparent about how it sets capital and operational standards in any conditional approvals. 

ABA strongly encourages OCC to be patient, not measure its application decisioning progress against traditional timelines, and allow each charter applicant’s regulatory responsibilities to come fully into view before moving a charter application forward.

The American Bankers Association.

The group also warns some charter applicants may end up under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight as brokers, investment advisers, or investment companies. In the ABA’s view, that would weaken the traditional separation between banking regulation and securities regulation.

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The Clarity Act

A big reason is timing: The ABA says the GENIUS Act framework is not close to fully implemented and could take years because several agencies, including the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, would need to write coordinated rules. 

The ABA criticised the OCC for approving charters based on promises that applicants will later “conform, cease, or divest” to meet future requirements, saying approvals should wait until each firm’s full regulatory obligations are clear.

It also wants stricter naming rules so limited-purpose trust entities that are not doing core banking activities cannot use “bank” in their name, arguing that would reduce consumer confusion and the risk of a confidence shock if an uninsured firm fails.

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