OCC Announces Appeal to Judge’s Decision on Fintech Charter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced today that it will appeal a district judge’s ruling that the federal regulator cannot issue a special-purpose fintech charter to a nonbank entity that is ineligible for federal deposit insurance.

 “The agency disagrees with the decision and the court’s interpretation of the authority the National Bank Act grants the OCC,” said Bryan Hubbard, a spokesperson for the OCC. “The agency plans to appeal the ruling to resolve this matter.”

The OCC has been fighting to issue fintech charters for years now. For background, the New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) each filed suit in early 2017 seeking to block implementation of OCC’s special purpose bank charter system intended to bring fintech companies away from state rule and under federal supervision. A federal judge dismissed New York’s lawsuit in December 2017. Four months later, a federal judge tossed CSBS’ lawsuit. The lawsuits were deemed speculative and prudentially unripe.

Each entity filed another lawsuit this year. Although a judge tossed CSBS’ second lawsuit, a different judge accepted DFS’ second suit, eventually ruling against the OCC’s fintech charter. This is the case that is now being appealed.