This week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) challenging the agency’s granting of national trust charters to crypto companies “in apparent violation of the National Bank Act.” According to Warren, the nine crypto companies that have received national trust charters since December 2025 are “effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank.” Warren seeks information from the OCC regarding the newly approved national trust companies to ensure compliance with the National Bank Act (NBA).
National trust charters versus national banks
The crux of Warren’s inquiry relates to the legal distinction between national trust companies and full-service national banks, and the activities in which each type of financial institution may lawfully engage.
The OCC is empowered to grant national trust charters to companies whose operations are “limited to those of a trust company and activities related thereto.” National trust companies face less regulatory oversight and restrictions as compared to national banks, which face a slew of restrictions under the NBA. For example, unlike national banks, national trust companies are not generally required to obtain federal deposit insurance, face less stringent safety and soundness requirements, and are not subject to the Community Reinvestment Act, and their parent companies are exempt from Bank Holding Company Act oversight. In exchange, national trust companies are permitted to engage in only a narrow set of fiduciary activities, such as acting as trustee, executor or administrator, and are generally prohibited from engaging in the business of banking (e.g., accepting deposits and making loans).
Warren, however, asserts that the business plans of the newly chartered trust companies suggest that the companies intend to operate beyond the narrow set of permitted activities by engaging in nonfiduciary custodial activities, facilitating payments and lending activities, and conducting stablecoin activities related to deposit-taking. The letter claims that the OCC’s approval decisions pose risks to consumers, financial stability and the separation of banking and commerce. The letter also notes that the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act did not amend the NBA’s trust charter provisions – and therefore, in Warren’s view, does not expand the permissible activities of national trust companies.
Information requested
By June 1, Warren requests that the OCC provide the following with respect to each of the nine recently approved trust companies:
- Full charter applications, including a list of each company’s intended activities, a designation of which activities are those of a trust company or are “related” to those of a trust company, and legal analyses regarding compliance with the NBA. She further asks the OCC to address whether it is considering terminating any of the charters.
- Communications between OCC officials and President Donald Trump, members of his immediate family, employees, or individuals acting on Trump or his family’s behalf, and White House officials regarding the trust charter approvals.
- Responses and applicable legal analyses related to the NBA, fiduciary and nonfiduciary activities, and the relationship of the GENIUS Act to the NBA.
What’s next?
The letter signals heightened congressional scrutiny of the OCC’s approach to digital asset regulation and may foreshadow legislative or oversight action. We will continue to monitor developments as the June 1 response deadline approaches.