WASHINGTON–The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) that challenged the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) national charter for fintech companies.
As CUToday.info previously reported, in the first quarter of 2017 the OCC proposed a draft licensing manual supplement that explained how the agency would evaluate charter applications from fintechs, including how it would use existing regulations and policies regarding special-purpose national bank charters for fintech companies.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors responded with a suit that argued that the OCC had exceeded its legal authority by creating a special national charter for non-banks that would allow the fintechs to avoid some state-level laws. The judge, however, dismissed the lawsuit by noting the OCC has yet to issue a special charter to a fintech.
This is the second time such a challenge to the OCC has been dismissed. In December 2017, a lawsuit brought by the New York Department of Financial Services was also dismissed for lack of standing.