House Republicans press OCC’s Hsu on bank-fintech partnership
WASHINGTON – A group of Republicans led by House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Patrick McHenry, RN.C., wrote a letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu criticizing his recent comments about bank-fintech partnerships.
Hsu recently suggested that increasingly complex bank-fintech partnerships could lay the foundations for another financial crisisand said he is concerned about the increasing integration of fintechs that facilitate everything from payments, online lending and deposit activities.
The lawmakers are asking Hsu to elaborate on what risk the acting comptroller believes fintech-bank partnerships pose, “or whether it is a byproduct of success in meeting consumer demand.”
Bloomberg News
After the 2022 midterm, McHenry is widely expected to take the leadership seat on the House Financial Services Committee. In the past, he has indicated that a priority for his committee would be to clarify rules for fintech firms, as well as target President Biden’s financial regulators for criticism.
In their letter, McHenry, along with other Republicans on the fintech task force, including Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio, Pete Sessions of Texas, Tom Emmer of Minnesota and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, said the OCC has not been active in defining the parameters of banks and fintech -companies to cooperate.
“Under the previous administration, the OCC worked to provide banks and their customers with a clear understanding of regulatory and supervisory expectations around new products and services and how to properly assess risk,” they wrote. “While we expected the OCC to continue to provide clear driving rules and support innovative banking services, that has not been the case.”
The lawmakers ask whether the OCC expects some fintech partnerships “will cease to exist” as a result of potential regulatory changes, and how the agency will “ensure that examiners do not discourage innovation through fintech partnerships.”
Responses to these questions and to a number of others about how the OCC will oversee bank-fintech partnerships were requested by October 31.
