ICBA to OCC: Rescind unvetted charter policy shift

ICBA and other groups asked the OCC to rescind an interpretive letter expanding eligibility to apply for a national trust charter as well as the conditional charter approvals for Anchorage Digital Bank and Protego Trust Bank.

Background: The OCC last month published Interpretive Letter 1176, which effectively eliminated the longstanding requirement that applicants for national bank trust charters engage in fiduciary activities. The OCC made the change without public review three days before the resignation of Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks, allowing for the Anchorage and Protego conversions.

ICBA Position: Citing the Biden administration's regulatory freeze, the joint letter urges the OCC to reconsider the policy shift and ensure changes in its charter eligibility requirements are subject to the conventional rulemaking process.