4/26/2017 Media Release
Conference of State Bank Supervisors
1129 20th Street, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC, 20036
CSBS Files Complaint Against Comptroller of the Currency Washington, D.C. – The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced today it has filed a
complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the Office of the Comptroller
of Currency (OCC). The complaint seeks to prevent the agency from moving forward with an unlawful
attempt to create a national nonbank charter that will harm markets, innovation and consumers.
“The OCC’s action is an unprecedented, unlawful expansion of the chartering authority given to it by
Congress for national banks. If Congress had intended it to be used for another purpose, it would have
explicitly authorized the OCC to do so,” said John W. Ryan, CSBS President and CEO. “If the OCC is
allowed to proceed with the creation of a special purpose nonbank charter, it will set a dangerous precedent
that any federal agency can act beyond the legal limits of its authority. We are confident that we will prevail on
the merits.”
The complaint asserts that by creating a national bank charter for nonbank companies, the OCC has gone far
beyond the limited authority granted to it by Congress under the National Bank Act and other federal banking
laws. Those laws authorize the OCC to only charter institutions that engage in the “business of banking,”
which under the National Bank Act requires an institution, at minimum, to receive deposits. Yet the OCC is
attempting to create a new special purpose charter for nonbank companies that do not take deposits, without
express statutory authorization. The OCC does not have the authority to create a special purpose charter for
nonbanks without specific congressional approval.
“The OCC’s proposed action ignores Congress, seeks to preempt state consumer protection laws, harms
markets and innovation, and puts taxpayers at risk of inevitable fintech failures. This is a dangerous
combination and one the court should decisively halt,” said Ryan. “To protect consumers and taxpayers, to
promote innovation, and to ensure fair and open competition, CSBS was forced to take legal action against
the OCC charter.”
“State regulators already supervise a vibrant financial services marketplace that includes non­banks and
banks. Tens of thousands of mortgage, money transmission, debt collection, and consumer finance
companies – not to mention over 75% of this nation's banks ­­ already operate under the state system,” said
Ryan. “That regulatory structure has produced a robust platform for innovation. Moving forward, state
regulators will continue to streamline regulation and automate licensing across state lines, ensuring the
system will work even better for state­licensed companies and consumers while protecting taxpayers.”
The CSBS filing is available here. Attached exhibits sent with the complaint are available here.
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Media Contacts: Jim Kurtzke, Vice President of Communications, [email protected] or 202­728­5733
Rockhelle Johnson, Senior Manager, Communications, [email protected] or 202.407.7156
Twitter: @CSBS @NMLS Info
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the national organization of bank regulators from all 50
states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. State regulators
supervise roughly three­quarters of all U.S. banks and a variety of non­depository financial services. CSBS,
on behalf of state regulators, also operates the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System to license and register
non­depository financial service providers in the mortgage, money services businesses, consumer finance and
debt industries. ©2017 CSBS Terms of Use \ Privacy Policy \ Site Map
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