Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, DEPOSIT INSURANCE—OCC promotes de novo chartering, following FDIC, (Aug 12, 2026)
Comptroller Gould said the FDIC's new process aligns with OCC efforts to reverse the decline in de novo chartering.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) commended the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's two-phase review process for deposit insurance applications, which aims to give organizing groups contingent authorization within 120 days and a final approval decision within 12 months thereafter. The process is intended to encourage new bank formation, speed review, and make applications more efficient. Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould commended the reform, saying it aligns with OCC efforts to reinvigorate de novo chartering after a long decline in new bank formation.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recently announced a new two-phase process for reviewing deposit insurance applications, intended to encourage new bank formation, accelerate the pace of review, and improve the efficiency of the application process (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Aug. 11, 2026). Phase 1 begins when the FDIC receives an application and spans 120 days. If warranted, the agency’s goal is to issue a contingent authorization to applicants that satisfy the relevant requirements at the end of that period, with pre-opening conditions detailed in the letter. Phase 2 follows immediately and may run up to 12 months while organizers complete necessary organizational steps and the FDIC works toward approval, including a deposit insurance order.
With some exceptions, applicants generally should be able to file concurrently with both the FDIC and the chartering authority, and the agency said it will coordinate throughout the process to promote efficiency, avoid duplication, and ensure timely action.
Increase in chartering applications. The OCC said it received 40 de novo applications in the last 18 months, including national trust bank applications, and that in many cases it decided charter applications within 120 days of receiving complete applications. The agency also said that, for the first time in five years, a full-service national bank received final OCC approval and opened.
An OCC fact sheet adds more current-year detail, defining a de novo bank as a newly chartered bank and listing 2025 de novo charter volume at 18 with seven approvals and 2026 volume at 22 with 14 approvals as of Aug. 5, 2026. The OCC says it will continue with the new chartering effort to encourage new banks.
RegulatoryActivity: BankingOperations DepositInsurance FinTech