Conference of State Bank Supervisors Response on Fintech Bank Charters

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) responded recently to a report from the Treasury Department regarding financial innovation, and a decision by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to create a new national bank charter for fintech companies.

The CSBS announced that it does not support Treasury recommendations for creation of the new federal rules or unauthorized federal bank charters that compromise the ability of state officials to apply and enforce state laws.  Likewise, it disagrees with Treasury’s recommended changes to the valid-when-made doctrine and the true-lender doctrine, and to creating an OCC special purpose bank charter for fintech companies.

The CSBS contends that an OCC fintech charter exceeds the authority granted by Congress to the OCC, that it would place the federal government in the business of picking winners and losers in the marketplace, and that it would also expose taxpayers to new risks.