Overview
- Sony Bank has applied to form Connectia Trust as a national trust bank that would issue a dollar‑pegged stablecoin, hold reserves, and offer digital asset custody and asset management.
- The Independent Community Bankers of America asked the OCC to deny the charter, arguing the proposed stablecoin functions like uninsured deposits and circumvents Community Reinvestment Act obligations and traditional bank rules.
- The ICBA flagged gaps in the public application on reserve composition, redemption under stress, and contingency planning, and questioned potential debit‑card style payment features under a trust charter.
- The group raised Bank Holding Company Act questions tied to Sony Group Corporation’s roughly 20% stake in Sony Financial Group and warned the OCC has not resolved an uninsured national bank failure since 1933, citing consumer‑access risks in a crypto receivership.
- Crypto industry voices pushed back, with Coinbase’s legal chief accusing banking lobbyists of trying to block competition, as the OCC review continues with no decision expected for many months and other firms like Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, Bridge and Paxos pursuing similar charters after the GENIUS Act.