Major U.S. banking group weighs lawsuit over OCC’s approval of crypto firms’ bank charters

Major U.S. banks are reportedly considering legal action against regulators that have granted bank charters to virtual asset (cryptocurrency) firms.

According to a report by The Guardian cited by Cointelegraph on the 9th (local time), the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), a U.S. banking policy group, is reviewing whether to file a lawsuit over the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granting National Trust Bank charters to virtual asset firms.

The report said BPI believes the OCC did not adequately reflect the banking industry’s concerns in the process of changing its interpretation of federal chartering rules, and is examining the possibility of legal action.

In December last year, the OCC granted conditional National Trust Bank charters to several virtual asset firms including BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple, and Paxos. Additional virtual asset firms have since applied for the same charter.

BPI is an organization whose members include major U.S. financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, American Express, and JPMorgan. They are concerned that if virtual asset firms obtain National Trust Bank charters, they could provide financial services under relatively weaker regulation than traditional banks.

A National Trust Bank charter is a federal financial license issued by the OCC, allowing the holder to provide financial services such as trust services, asset custody, and fiduciary operations.

However, BPI has reportedly not yet made a final decision on whether to file a lawsuit. Previously, in October last year, BPI said applications by virtual asset firms such as Ripple and Circle for national trust company charters should be rejected, arguing at the time that such charters might not be subject to the level of oversight applied to traditional commercial banks.