The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is intensifying efforts to revive de novo bank chartering, with Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould commending the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) new streamlined deposit insurance review process. The agencies explicitly stated that entities working with digital assets and novel technologies should have a clear path to becoming national banks.
“De novo chartering is a sign of a healthy banking system,” Gould said, noting that the FDIC’s reforms align with the OCC’s drive to reverse a decades-long decline in new bank formation. For perspective, between 2011 and 2014 the OCC averaged fewer than four charter applications annually, with some years yielding none. Over the past 18 months, however, the agency has received 40 de novo applications, including for national trust banks, signaling renewed industry confidence.
“America and the OCC are once again open for business,” Gould declared, emphasizing that legally permissible activities, including those involving digital assets, are welcome. The OCC has shortened decision timelines to roughly 120 days after a complete application, and for the first time in five years, a full-service national bank has received final approval and begun operations.
