1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Court Battle for Fintech Bank Charters to Continue December 6, 2019 The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) plans to appeal an October district court judgment holding that the agency lacks the
2、 authority to grant national bank charters to financial technology companies (fintechs) that do not take deposits. Fintechs provide the financial services sector with digital and software technologies, and businesses and consumers with web-based, technology-enhanced financial services. Chartering a
3、fintech as a national bank would mean that the fintech would benefit from federal preemption of varying state licensing and consumer protection requirements. Moreover, a national bank charter carries with it the ability to open a Federal Reserve master account, which provides direct access to the pa
4、yments system for financial transactions. Joseph Otting, Comptroller of the Currency, announced an intention to file an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This Sidebar will briefly summarize the background of this litigation and the specifics of the trial court decision, as
