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The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in federal court in Washington on Friday, October 2, challenging the agency’s rule and guidance on national trust bank charters. The trade group argues the OCC exceeded its authority by allowing trust-chartered firms, including crypto businesses, to conduct substantial non-fiduciary activities.
The lawsuit asks the court to require the OCC to withdraw the rule and related guidance, according to Reuters. The dispute concerns the reach of a national trust charter: ICBA says crypto firms could gain the legitimacy of a federal charter without being subject to the full framework that applies to insured, deposit-taking banks. The OCC’s final rule, by contrast, says it clarifies existing authority rather than expanding it.
Challenge centers on OCC rule effective in April
The OCC issued its final rule on February 27, 2026, and made it effective April 1. It applies to applicants seeking national bank charters limited to the operations of a trust company and related activities. The agency revised its chartering regulation to refer to trust-company operations and related activities rather than only “fiduciary activities.”
In its published summary, the OCC said the change clarifies the longstanding authority of national banks limited to trust-company operations to engage in non-fiduciary activities in addition to fiduciary work. It also said the rule neither expands nor contracts the agency’s authority to charter national banks. That interpretation is at the heart of the case: ICBA contends that the OCC’s approach goes beyond the authority Congress granted.
ICBA raises concerns about unequal safeguards
ICBA says the trust charter route could allow crypto-focused firms to operate under a federal banking designation without the same obligations as insured depository institutions. In its statement on the suit, the group pointed to the Community Reinvestment Act, consolidated supervision, capital and liquidity standards, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage as safeguards it says traditional banks face.
Those are the trade group’s claims, not findings by a court. The OCC rule itself concerns the scope of trust-company charters; it does not state that every charter applicant is exempt from every banking requirement. The exact obligations applicable to a firm depend on its charter, activities and other laws and regulatory decisions.
ICBA had opposed the rule before filing suit. The group’s earlier objections to trust-bank applications argued that substantial non-fiduciary digital-asset services could exceed the traditional scope of trust banking and create differences in regulatory treatment. Its October lawsuit escalates that dispute from application-by-application objections to a broader challenge to the agency’s rule and guidance.
National trust charters are distinct from deposit-taking bank charters
A national trust bank charter is not the same as a full-service bank charter. Trust institutions commonly provide custody and fiduciary services, while the OCC’s rule addresses whether qualifying trust banks may also undertake related non-fiduciary activities. A trust charter alone does not establish that an institution accepts ordinary customer deposits or has FDIC-insured deposits.
The distinction matters because crypto companies seeking federal charters may offer custody or other digital-asset services, while the extent of permissible activities is contested. The OCC’s public charter decisions show applications and approvals for national trust banks, including from digital-asset-related firms, but a charter decision does not resolve the legal challenge to the rule’s interpretation.
What happens next remains unclear
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Reuters reported that ICBA wants the OCC to revoke the rule and related guidance, but the available reporting did not identify a hearing date, a briefing schedule or a response from the regulator. The case’s next procedural steps therefore remain unknown.
The court will be asked to consider whether the OCC’s interpretation fits its statutory authority to charter national trust banks. Until the case proceeds, the filing represents the community-bank group’s challenge, not a ruling that the rule is unlawful. The OCC’s stated position remains that its February measure clarifies existing chartering authority.
