The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) says it sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on October 2, 2026, challenging the agency’s approach to national trust bank charters for firms conducting substantial non-fiduciary activities. The case is a lawsuit, not a court ruling: ICBA is asking a federal court to invalidate OCC actions and revoke Protego’s conditional charter approval.
What ICBA is asking the court to do
In its October 2 announcement, ICBA said it filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The group says the OCC exceeded its statutory authority and seeks a ruling that two separate agency actions are unlawful:
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- The OCC’s March 2, 2026 final rule related to national trust bank charters.
- Interpretive Letter 1176, an OCC interpretation concerning national trust banks and the agency’s authority under 12 U.S.C. § 27(a).
ICBA also asks the court to vacate Protego Holdings Corp.’s conditional national trust bank charter approval. These are the plaintiff’s requested remedies, not findings by a judge. The sources available for this article do not establish whether the court has issued any order in the case.
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What a national trust bank charter means here
The dispute is about the scope of a federal trust-bank charter, not a blanket challenge to every crypto company or every OCC decision involving digital assets. The OCC describes Interpretive Letter 1176 as a January 2021 Chief Counsel interpretation addressing national trust banks under 12 U.S.C. § 27(a). ICBA objects to using that charter framework for entities it says conduct substantial non-fiduciary business.
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A national trust bank charter should not be treated as interchangeable with an insured, deposit-taking bank. The particular institution’s charter, activities, and governing law matter. A federal charter alone does not establish that customers’ funds are FDIC-insured or that the institution offers ordinary deposit accounts.
Why ICBA calls it a “side door”
ICBA argues that the national trust charter could give crypto firms the credibility associated with a federal bank charter without obligations it associates with insured depository institutions. In the group’s announcement, President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said: “Congress did not create the national trust charter as a side door into the banking system for crypto firms seeking the credibility of a federal bank charter without the Community Reinvestment Act obligations, consolidated supervision, capital and liquidity standards, and FDIC insurance that apply to insured depository institutions.”
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That quotation states ICBA’s position; it is not a judicial determination that every listed requirement applies in the same way to every institution holding a trust charter. The dispute turns in part on the boundaries of the OCC’s chartering authority and how the relevant requirements apply to the institutions and activities at issue.
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The OCC’s interpretations and decisions index includes materials describing certain crypto custody and payment activities as permissible for national banks and federal savings associations, including Interpretive Letter 1183. That context does not decide whether the OCC may grant or approve a national trust charter for a particular firm, nor does it resolve ICBA’s claims.
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Keeping the categories separate matters: permission for certain activities by national banks or federal savings associations is not the same question as the scope of national trust bank authority, and neither establishes that every crypto-related institution is a deposit-taking, FDIC-insured bank.
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ICBA announced the filing and described the relief it seeks. The sources cited here do not provide a docket number, identify a judge, or establish subsequent motions or court orders. Until the court acts, the claims remain allegations and the requested relief remains unresolved.
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