Thomas Curry spoke on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's fintech charter at LendIt USA; Curry primarily refuted arguments against the OCC's authority for establishing a fintech charter; Curry sited the National Bank Act stating, "To be clear, the National Bank Act does give the OCC the legal authority to grant national bank charters to companies engaged in the business of banking."; the banking charter would encompass all fintech companies engaging in banking activities regardless of whether or not they take banking deposits; the OCC is still evaluating the provisions of the fintech charter following its December 2016 white paper and comment period which ended in January 2017. Source
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published details on its fintech charter in a 16-page supplement to its existing OCC licensing manual; the fintech charter supplement addresses capital requirements, liquidity, financial inclusion plans, consumer protection and the application process; Lend Academy provides an analysis in their article; the release of the fintech charter will now be followed by an open comment period which ends on April 14; also noteworthy is that Thomas Curry's term as comptroller ends on April 9 however he can serve until a replacement is confirmed. Source
In September, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry discussed his proposal for fintech regulation which he said would likely include a fintech charter; on Friday, Thomas Curry is expected to announce his plans for the fintech charter; potential provisions to be included with the fintech charter announcement include receivership powers which would provide support from the government if capital funding fails. Source
Thomas Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, gave more insight on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) plans for fintech regulation at a banking and innovation conference in London; Curry reported that regulation would be consistent with current banking standards, noting in his comments that, "if the OCC decides to grant a national charter in this area, the institution will be held to the same high standards of safety, soundness and fairness that other federally chartered institutions must meet"; the OCC is continuing with its plans for an Innovation Office and Curry said he would be releasing a white paper on fintech innovation. Source
Yesterday, the first ever Marketplace Lending Policy Summit took place in Washington DC. Even though this was not a LendIt...
The US marketplace lending industry has matured with a number of self-regulating industry associations however the evolution of the industry and its integration into mainstream financial services has brought about increased regulatory attention which was one prominent topic for discussion at LendIt USA; HousingWire details the keynote speeches from Thomas Curry and Patrick McHenry also discussing insight from Amias Gerety; Richard Cordray from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was also a featured keynote speaker discussing government regulatory efforts pertaining to the industry. Source