This week, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) submitted a comment to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) opposing the national trust bank charter application of Payward, Inc. doing business as Kraken (Payward/Kraken) under the name Payward National Trust Company (PNTC).
NCRC opposes national trust bank charters for cryptocurrency firms because granting them is contrary to the laws that require trust banks to only engage in fiduciary activities and encourages regulatory arbitrage, a loss of community reinvestment, harm to consumers and a lack of oversight and accountability. As a cryptocurrency exchange, the Payward/Kraken application also poses risks to the safety and soundness of the financial system.
“Payward/Kraken was previously sued by federal agencies for mixing its funds and digital assets with its customers’ assets, and yet it now wants the government’s seal of approval to become a national trust bank,” said Tara Flynn, NCRC’s policy director. “Its past acts are disqualifying and it should not be granted a green light to act as a national bank and custodian of customer funds. The role of regulators is to protect consumers and the financial system. We urge the OCC to deny Payward/Kraken’s application.”
To read the full comment letter, visit: https://ncrc.org/ncrc-opposes-application-of-kraken-a-crypto-exchange-for-a-national-trust-bank-charter/.
