The association representing community banks in the United States filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to challenge the policy that allows cryptocurrency companies to obtain federal national trust bank charters. The lawsuit was filed on Friday, the 2nd, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) argues that the regulator exceeded the authority granted by Congress by allowing institutions focused on digital assets to operate under this type of license even when a relevant part of their business is not fiduciary in nature.
The entity wants the court to declare illegal both a rule finalized this year and a regulatory interpretation adopted by the OCC in 2021.
The central point of the dispute is the scope of the national trust bank charter. The ICBA states that crypto companies can obtain the credibility associated with a federal banking license without being subject to some of the obligations applicable to insured depository institutions, including FDIC insurance, certain prudential requirements and obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act.
The association also argues that consumers may interpret the presence of a federal charter as a sign that assets held at these institutions have the same protections offered by traditional banks, something that does not automatically occur at a national trust bank without insured deposits.
OCC says rule only clarifies existing authority
The lawsuit directly targets the chartering rule published by the OCC in March and in effect since April 1st, 2026. The rule amended the regulation to make explicit that national banks limited to the operations of a trust company may perform non-fiduciary activities related to that business model.
The OCC offers a different interpretation from the ICBA. When publishing the rule, the regulator stated that the change only clarified an already existing authority and that it did not expand or restrict its power to grant national charters.
The rule replaced narrower references to “fiduciary activities” with wording that encompasses “operations of a trust company and related activities.”
That position is based on Interpretive Letter 1176, published in January 2021. In the document, the OCC argued that a national trust bank does not need to limit its operations exclusively to fiduciary activities and may perform other activities permitted to trust companies, including non-fiduciary custody services.
In addition to seeking to overturn the rule and the interpretive letter, the ICBA asked the court to annul the conditional approval granted to Protego, a company focused on digital asset services that received authorization from the OCC in February of this year. The entity had previously opposed the company's request.
The lawsuit opens a legal dispute over how far the OCC can use the national trust bank charter to incorporate digital asset companies into the federal banking system.
The decision may affect both institutions that have already received authorizations and crypto companies that are currently seeking similar licenses from the regulator.
