The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today announced it has elevated its chartering and licensing function to signal support for the creation of new banks and a new receptiveness to bank mergers and stablecoin issuers.
Stephen Lybarger has been named senior deputy comptroller for chartering, organization and structure, the OCC said. He most recently was deputy comptroller of licensing.
The OCC is the primary regulator of national banks, and with the recent passage of the GENIUS Act, it will take an expanded role in regulating nonbank stablecoin issuers. The decision to put a senior deputy comptroller in charge of chartering and licensing “reflects the strategic value of these functions to our agency and the federal banking system,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a statement.
“It further affirms the OCC’s support for the formation of de novo banks, signals its openness to considering business combinations that foster competition and better support consumers and communities, and recognizes our new remit to license payment stablecoin issuers,” Gould added.
