OpenReserve Gets Conditional OCC National Bank Charter
OCC preliminary approval on Sept. 2 would let OpenReserve mix deposits, crypto custody, and a stablecoin unit. $210M capital plus FDIC, Fed, and final OCC authorization still required.
On September 2, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted OpenReserve Bank, National Association, preliminary conditional approval to organize as a full-service national bank, with its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The OCC — the federal agency that charters national banks — did not authorize the bank to open. It did put on the public record a national-charter plan that would combine deposits, lending, payments, and treasury services with digital-asset custody and a stablecoin subsidiary.
OpenReserve is the applicant that must still put up capital and clear three further federal gates. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, and the OCC itself are the agencies that have not yet given the remaining authorizations. Until those steps are done, no customer can place a deposit or a token with this bank.
What the charter would cover
OpenReserve’s proposed offering, as identified in the OCC decision, includes deposits, lending, payments, and treasury services.
It also plans digital-asset services and nonfiduciary digital-asset custody, meaning it would hold crypto for customers without acting as a trustee.
The proposed structure includes a stablecoin subsidiary — a unit that would issue a digital token designed to hold a steady value, usually against the dollar.
Those lines sit in the business plan. The OCC has not confirmed that any of them are available to customers.
Capital and the remaining federal gates
The preliminary decision is expressly conditional.
Before it can begin operations, OpenReserve must have at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital — money shareholders have actually contributed to the bank.
The OCC said OpenReserve must also obtain FDIC deposit insurance, Federal Reserve stock, and final OCC authorization before opening.
FDIC insurance would cover qualifying customer deposits. Federal Reserve stock is the membership interest national banks purchase to join the Fed system. Final OCC authorization is the last charter step that would allow the bank to open.
None of those three approvals is in hand.
A template, not a live bank
A national bank charter is a federal license to operate as a bank across the United States rather than under a single state’s rules.
The September 2 action records a business plan that blends traditional banking with digital-asset custody and stablecoin issuance under that federal license.
The conditions are part of the same template: a $210 million capital floor, FDIC insurance, Federal Reserve membership stock, and a final OCC go-ahead. Other applicants can now read both the mix of activities and the gates attached to them.
The OCC application record lists OpenReserve’s charter filing as dated April 13, 2026, and as approved on September 2, the same date as the conditional-approval decision.
What remains unknown
No opening date has been announced.
Final OCC authorization, FDIC deposit insurance, and Federal Reserve stock have not been granted.
The public decision does not say whether or when OpenReserve will meet the $210 million paid-in capital requirement.
It also does not confirm that deposits, loans, custody, or the stablecoin subsidiary will launch.