- Five U.S. banking associations raised concerns with the OCC about crypto firm applications for national trust bank charters.
- Applications from Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Trust, and Ripple are under scrutiny for lacking public disclosure.
- The associations claim most content in the applications is redacted and not transparent.
- They argue these applications could serve as a backdoor for crypto companies to gain national bank status.
- The groups request the OCC postpone decisions until more information is made public for review.
Five major U.S. banking groups, including the American Bankers Association, have written to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to express concerns about four recent trust bank charter applications from crypto and stablecoin companies. The associations say the applications, submitted by Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Trust, and Ripple, do not provide enough information for public comment, a required step in the OCC’s review process.
The banking associations state that the public comment period is not meaningful because the applications contain extensive redactions. According to a recent Ledger Insights report, about 90% of the information in the Circle and Ripple filings is blacked out. In comparison, applications from non-crypto banks are typically more open.
The associations claim in their letter that these applications could act as a way for crypto firms to become national banks without following the standard, more transparent process. They explain that a trust bank charter allows certain banking services at the national level, and believe these digital asset firms should be held to the same disclosure standards as traditional banks.
In their statement, the groups request that the OCC delay the charter review process until “the OCC has released enough information concerning the Applicants’ intended business plans, as well as other aspects of the Applications, to inform the public’s review and interested stakeholder comment, consistent with the historical transparency of the OCC’s charter application review process.” The associations stress the importance of transparency for public trust and industry fairness.
In a note to readers, Ledger Insights confirms it will continue to provide primary news on its main website, but deeper analysis and industry insights are now restricted to Pro subscribers. Further information on the charter applications and their progress may become available as the OCC responds to these concerns.
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