The combined bank would be chartered in North Carolina, with the FDIC serving as its lead federal regulator, N.C. Banking Commissioner Ray Grace says. The merger partners had other options, including the Fed and the OCC.
In a speech in Japan, the comptroller of the currency urged overseas institutions to consider a “single regulatory framework” instead of applying to multiple states.
The bank sought to evade the consequences of compliance failures including weak scrutiny of transactions that could be tied to North Korea, the N.Y. banking superintendent said in demanding access to communications between the bank and its new supervisor, the OCC.
Citizens Financial Group plans to merge its two banking charters into a single national bank. The move would make the OCC the bank's primary regulator and eliminate the costs of dealing with the FDIC and state officials.
Japan's biggest bank has been accused by New York officials of dodging tough oversight by swapping its state license for a federal one, putting itself under a U.S. agency on the front lines of President Donald Trump's push to ease financial rules.
The holding company for Union Bank — itself a unit of the Japanese giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group — is on a mission to double its size and become one of the nation's 10 largest banks. Under Steve Cummings, its first-ever American CEO, MUFG Americas has expanded middle-market lending and amassed $3 billion of consumer deposits through its new online bank. Is a splashy acquisition next?
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., sent a letter to OCC officials suggesting that Bank of Tokyo was trying to avoid an investigation by New York examiners when it switched to a federal charter.
