Charter application boom a ‘return to norm’ for OCC: Gould

Core Insights - The 14 de novo charter applications filed in 2025 represent a "return to the norm" for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) after years of regulatory dissuasion [1] - This year's applications nearly match the total from the previous four years combined, indicating healthy competition and innovation within the banking sector [2] Group 1: Charter Applications - The increase in national trust charter applications, particularly from cryptocurrency firms, has been met with pushback from bank industry trade groups [3] - The OCC supervises around 60 national trust banks that focus on fiduciary services without the ability to take deposits or make traditional loans [2] Group 2: Regulatory Perspective - Comptroller Jonathan Gould emphasized that prohibiting national trusts from engaging in nonfiduciary custody activities could undermine the federal banking system and disrupt over a trillion dollars in traditional activities [3] - National trust banks held nearly $2 trillion in nonfiduciary custodial or safekeeping assets under administration in the third quarter, representing about 25% of their total assets under administration [3] Group 3: Digital Assets and Innovation - Gould noted that custody and safekeeping services for digital assets have been conducted electronically for decades, and there is no justification for treating digital assets differently [4] - The push for new bank chartering is supported by multiple regulators, including Travis Hill from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., who highlighted the need to encourage new bank formation [5]