Fintech regulations

The OCC’s efforts to bring the technology into the financial mainstream could help people in underserved communities more securely execute payments.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is overstepping its authority in granting charters to fintechs and other companies that don’t take deposits.

Two trade organizations and a consumer group urged lawmakers to establish a three-year moratorium to block the charter bids of companies that they said were attempting to skirt regulatory requirements.

Small banks have long led the campaign against industrial loan companies, arguing they can be used to violate the separation of banking and commerce. But now the industry’s heavyweights are also taking a hard line in response to an FDIC proposal that would give tech companies a smoother path into the lending business.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks says financial institutions are needed more than ever to “sustain existing businesses” and help entrepreneurs rebuild. Meanwhile, reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, he says, can “unblock opportunities” in minority neighborhoods.