Summary
Bloomberg's Paige Smith discusses the acceleration in national bank charter approvals under the Trump administration's deregulatory push. The OCC approved 22 charters in 19 months, and President Trump's family venture World Liberty Financial received conditional approval, with a primary focus on expanding its USD1 stablecoin. Coinbase and Circle are among other digital asset firms receiving conditional approvals. Smith says the next phase is watching how these untested new banks perform and how regulators oversee them.
- The OCC approved 22 bank charters in the first 19 months, more than in the prior five years combined.
- World Liberty Financial received conditional national bank charter approval.
- The Trump family bank's primary stated purpose is growing its USD1 stablecoin.
- Conflict-of-interest questions were acknowledged but answered with scant details.
- Pushback from trade groups has been notably quiet.
- Coinbase and Circle also received conditional bank charter approvals.
- Smith describes a proving ground for new and untested banks.