On September 2, the OCC granted preliminary conditional approval of a charter application filed by a global fintech company to establish a full-service, insured, branchless national bank headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The proposed bank, which would be a wholly owned subsidiary of a U.S. holding company controlled by a U.K.-based parent regulated by the U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority, plans to offer deposit and credit products, payment services, and limited digital asset services, including access to branded stablecoins, through third parties. The OCC’s approval imposed several conditions, including a requirement that the bank maintain a tier 1 leverage ratio of no less than 10 percent throughout its first three years of operation, obtain prior written OCC approval before significantly deviating from its business plan, and submit proposed senior executive officers and directors for OCC review. The OCC also required minimum initial paid-in capital of $95 million.

The approval does not extend to four proposed product lines — retail foreign exchange, foreign exchange forwards, merchant acquiring, and correspondent banking for unaffiliated foreign banks — each of which would require a separate supervisory non-objection before launch. Final authorization to open will not be granted until all preopening requirements are satisfied, including obtaining deposit insurance from the FDIC and approval from the Fed for the parent entities to become bank holding companies.