OCC Touts De Novo Chartering Surge

The OCC reported that it continues to prioritize reinvigorating de novo chartering as a means of building a more robust and diverse banking system.

In a release, the OCC noted that it has received 40 de novo bank applications in the last 18 months, including applications for national trust banks. It also granted the first full-service national bank charter in five years, and that bank has since opened for business.

The recent activity reflects a reversal of a roughly 15-year decline in new charters. The OCC noted that from 2011 through 2014 it averaged fewer than four charter applications per year, receiving none at all in some years. It added that in many cases it has made recent decisions on charter applications within 120 days of receiving a complete application.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said that entities engaged in legally permissible activities, including those involving digital assets and novel technologies, should have a path to becoming a national bank. The OCC commended the FDIC's recent adoption of a two-phase review process for deposit insurance applications (see prior coverage), which the OCC said aligns with its goal of providing a transparent path for new entrants.