ICBA Sues OCC Over Crypto Firms' National Trust Charters
The Independent Community Bankers of America has filed a lawsuit challenging the OCC's authority to grant national trust bank charters to non-fiduciary crypto firms.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over the regulator's approval of national trust bank charters for cryptocurrency firms, according to an October 2 complaint.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. It argues that the OCC lacks the authority to charter non-fiduciary crypto firms as national trust banks. The complaint also names Comptroller Jonathan Gould.
What the complaint alleges
The ICBA contends that national trust charters should be limited to institutions that meet fiduciary standards, and that the OCC exceeded its statutory authority by extending the charter framework to crypto firms that do not act as fiduciaries.
The case adds to ongoing disputes between community banking groups and federal regulators over how digital asset firms should be supervised and whether they should be able to operate under national trust charters.