{
  "id": 3462148,
  "title": "Three Charts Show Who Wants a Federal Bank Charter and Why",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/three-charts-show-who-wants-a-federal-bank-charter-and-why",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-26T08:00:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PYMNTS",
    "slug": "pymnts",
    "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/legal/2026/three-charts-show-who-wants-a-federal-bank-charter-and-why/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently granted nine significant charter determinations, including six conditional approvals, one final approval, and two denials within the past 90 days. Four of the conditional approvals were granted to companies developing digital asset infrastructure, while FinTech firms Upstart and Itaú applied for insured, full-service national banks. OCC Chairman Jonathan V. Gould emphasized the importance of allowing entities involved in legally permissible activities, even those involving digital assets and novel technologies, to obtain a federal bank charter and federal deposit insurance.\n\nThe pending applications show a shift in the 21st century financial sector's perspective on the scope of a bank charter. Digital asset-focused companies are pursuing national trust banks, which enable them to manage activities such as custody, stablecoin reserve management, settlement, and asset conversion directly under federal supervision. In contrast, full-service applicants aim for the traditional banking powers, including deposits, lending, cards, and direct control of a balance sheet.\n\nDigital asset applicants are primarily focusing on activities related to financial products rather than consumer-facing services. Examples include Dakota National Trust Bank seeking digital asset custody, dollar stablecoin issuance, and customer-directed transactions. Agora National Trust Bank targets stablecoin issuance infrastructure, reserves, and related custody, while Bastion Platforms National Trust Company aims for state-to-national trust conversion for white-label stablecoin issuance and related infrastructure. Payoneer's proposed PAYO Digital Bank supports its PAYO-USD stablecoin, reserve management, and collateral trustee services.\n\nThese strategic differences matter, as a company controlling only the customer-facing stablecoin product relies on other institutions for critical infrastructure. On the other hand, a company that manages reserves, custody, or settlement through a regulated institution can remove intermediaries and gain greater control over its product's operation. The OCC's pipeline indicates that full-service applicants are making a different bet compared to crypto charters, focusing on traditional banking powers.",
  "summary": "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s charter-granting activity doesn’t just show that a new rash of financial services firms are successfully becoming banks or bank-like institutions. The applications, viewed collectively, also show what the 21st century financial sector thinks a bank charter should permit them to do. Over the 90 days ending Monday […] The post Three Charts Show Who…",
  "key_points": [
    "OCC granted nine significant bank charters in past 90 days",
    "Four conditional approvals for digital asset infrastructure firms",
    "FinTech Upstart and Itaú applied for insured national banks"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}