
Does a national bank have to take deposits in order to be a national bank?
That question is at the center of a federal lawsuit filed April 26 against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the nationwide organization of state financial regulators. The action, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, aims to block the OCC’s ability to offer its proposed national bank charter for non-deposit-taking financial technology (“fintech”) companies. CSBS alleges, among other things, that the OCC’s statutory authority allows it to charter only banks that engage in the traditional banking activity of taking deposits, and that any authority to charter non-deposit-taking national banks is limited to such banks specifically authorized by Congress. Continue Reading States’ Lawsuit Over OCC Authority to Create New Charter Creates Bumps in the Road for Fintech Firms