{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/sizing-up-the-governments-new-fintech-plan", "Sizing Up the Government’s New Fintech Plan", "2016-12-02", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sizing Up the Government\u2019s New Fintech Plan \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFriday, December 2, 2016\r\n\r\n\t\n\r\n\r\n\r\n  \r\n    By:\u00a0\r\n    PETER RUDEGEAIR AND TELIS DEMOS\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA proposal from a top\u00a0U.S. banking regulator to allow financial-technology companies to apply\u00a0for bank charters drew a range of reactions on Friday from industry executives, policy makers, attorneys and advocacy groups. Here are a few of the early takes on the proposal:\r\nFavorable/Positive\r\n\u00b7 Ken Rees, chief executive of online lender Elevate Credit Inc., said that the new charter could enable innovation, but partnerships between a bank and a fintech company would still offer big opportunities to provide better financial services to consumers. \u201cI don\u2019t think fintech companies have to go it alone to get the advantages we want because banks do a lot of things really well and fintech companies do a lot of things really well [and] those things don\u2019t necessarily overlap.\u201d\r\n\u00b7 Marla Blow, chief executive of FS Card Inc., a startup that offers subprime credit cards via a partnership a bank, said that she would \u201cabsolutely be taking a long hard look\u201d at the new charters. Currently, only banks can issue debit cards that work with networks like Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. and pull money from checking accounts. Expanding that to fintech firms, she said, \u201cwould cause a lot of creative juices to start flowing. There are lots of possibilities for financial inclusion.\u201d\r\n\u00b7 Colin Walsh, CEO and co-founder of online banking startup Varo Money Inc., has said in the past that the firm would consider pursuing a bank charter. Of today\u2019s announcement, he said it was \u201cvery good news,\u201dand that \u201ca national bank charter is a major stamp of approval and consumer trust. It ushers in a whole new opportunity.\u201d Varo, which is building a mobile-banking app that uses artificial intelligence to offer financial advice, presently partners with a bank to provide deposit accounts. Varo is also seeking state lending licenses.\r\n\u00b7 Brian Peters, head of the Financial Innovation Now, an industry group representing big technology companies that offer some banking services. \u201cA surprisingly large number of players are very closely watching\u2026. A lot of people are calling this a historic announcement. It will all depend on the details.\u201d\r\nCautious/Negative\r\n\u00b7\u00a0Maria Vullo, the superintendent of New York\u2019s Department of Financial Services, said that her agency would defend states\u2019 ability to enforce consumer-protection laws, adding that it \u201copposes any effort to federalize what states have been doing \u2013 and doing well \u2013 for over a century.\u201d Ms. Vullo added that the OCC\u2019s proposal \u201cwould be irresponsible if it were to ignore the states\u2019 historical role and longstanding expertise in this arena.\u201d\r\n\u00b7\u00a0Michelle Sternthal, deputy director of policy and government affairs for small-business advocacy group Main Street Alliance, said preemption of state law by a new federal OCC charter could be harmful for small businesses. \u201cWhile the fintech industry has the potential to expand lending for small business owners, it is also a breeding ground for costly, and often predatory, lending practices,\u201d Ms. Sternthal said in a statement.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said permitting fintech companies to preempt state regulations the way that the OCC proposes could harm consumers. \u201cI am deeply concerned that the OCC\u2019s plan to offer a national charter will weaken consumer protection standards in online lending and allow FinTech firms to sink to the lowest common denominator rather than abiding by stronger state laws, such as Oregon\u2019s payday lending law,\u201d Sen. Merkley said in a statement.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0Camden Fine, president and chief executive of trade group Independent Community Bankers of America, said that the OCC\u2019s proposal would codify an uneven playing field where fintech companies faced less scrutiny than traditional banks. \u201cICBA has been deeply concerned that nonbank online lenders\u2019 lack of oversight has provided them with regulatory advantages\u2026 while putting consumers and the financial system at risk.\u201d\r\nOther\r\n\u00b7\u00a0Brian Korn, an attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, said that online lenders that obtain one of these charters from the OCC would make contracts many have entered into with outside banks unnecessary. In so-called rent-a-charter deals, online lenders including LendingClub Corp and Prosper Marketplace Inc have outsourced the technical parts of making a loan to regulated banks, a setup that has been called into question by recent court decisions. Under the OCC proposal, though, an online lender \u201cdoesn\u2019t have to construct a mechanic to run a loan through a bank,\u201d Mr. Korn said.\r\n\r\n \r\n           \r\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/sizing-up-the-governments-new-fintech-plan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8959989063441753, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}