Sony Bank’s Crypto Push Sparks Fierce Opposition From US Banking Group
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has been pressured to show down Sony Bank’s bid to enter US crypto banking. According to stories, letters from banking and neighborhood teams filed in early November have raised sharp opposition concerning the plan and its doable results.
Sony’s Bank Plan
Sony Bank filed to kind a nationwide belief financial institution referred to as Connectia Trust, in keeping with filings and public stories. The plan would enable Connectia to handle reserves for a US dollar-pegged stablecoin and supply custody and asset-management providers for digital tokens.
The OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1183 in March 2025, which clarified that nationwide banks might carry out sure crypto actions after they meet danger controls. Trust banks, nonetheless, don’t take FDIC-insured deposits, and that distinction is central to the talk.
Advocates say the construction matches inside the slim scope the OCC specified by Letter 1183. Critics say it doesn’t.
Questions embrace how reserves could be composed, how redemptions would work in stress, and what would occur to custody holdings if the belief have been positioned into receivership.
Community financial institution teams and client advocates need clearer, extra public explanations of these mechanics.
Banking Groups Push Back
On November 6, 2025, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) despatched a proper letter urging the OCC to reject the appliance.
ICBA’s major level is {that a} belief constitution might let a big company proprietor supply a product that appears like a deposit however lacks deposit insurance coverage and typical financial institution obligations.
They referred to as this a type of regulatory arbitrage and warned it might create unfair competitors for smaller banks. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition additionally filed opposition, arguing the OCC lacks authority to deal with a stablecoin issuer like a standard financial institution and calling for stronger client protections.
Those teams have targeted on three sensible issues: client confusion about what’s and isn’t insured, unclear reserve transparency, and the dearth of examined instruments to resolve a belief financial institution that holds crypto belongings.
The letters stress the potential penalties of a run on a big stablecoin and the problem of unwinding token custody in a disaster.
Systemic And Consumer Risks
If a federally chartered belief points a broadly used stablecoin, it might set a authorized precedent that different tech corporations or monetary corporations would possibly comply with.
That is why some filings argue the OCC ought to transfer slowly and demand stricter situations. Reports have disclosed worries that retail customers might deal with the token like a financial institution deposit, when it might not carry FDIC safety.
The dangers should not simply theoretical. Under stress, reserve belongings is likely to be bought shortly, and digital holdings could possibly be laborious to switch inside a receivership framework that was constructed for conventional belongings.
Featured picture from Wikimedia Commons, chart from TradingView
