Two U.S. Senators Say ‘Not So Fast’ to OCC’s Plans for Limited Charter

Senator Sherrod Brown (D) and Jeffrey A. Merkley (D) both believe that the OCC does not possess the authority to grant the limited purpose charters it plans to move forward with. In a letter penned to Comptroller Thomas Curry on Monday, Brown and Merkley raise several concerns including that such charters would only blur the lines between banking and commerce, pointing out that an applicant need not necessarily be a fintech company to apply, nor need or want to accept deposits.

“As state banking supervisors have pointed out, because so many companies under an alternative charter would be exempt from the Bank Company Holding Act, nothing would ensure that both bank and currently impermissible non-bank activities were intermingled in one company, and that a commercial entity could not create or acquire an alternatively chartered company,” they write.

Brown and Merkley’s other concerns may be premature since the OCC is currently seeking information from the fintech industry on such issues in its official 13-question Request for Comment (found on the last pages of this document).

The full letter submitted to Comptroller Curry can be viewed here.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.