Stable coin company Rain seeks Federal Trust Bank of New York license

TLDR

Rain National Trust Bank's planned initiative

• If approved, the bank will provide three business services to institutional customers: providing trust custody of digital assets and U.S. dollars, managing stablecoin issuer reserves compliant with the federal GENIUS Act, and issuing and redemption of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins.
• Rain will continue to operate as a payment platform, will not accept deposits, provide retail accounts or issue commercial loans, and will not be covered by FDIC insurance.

Community bankers challenge the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in court

• Rain filed an application with the OCC on October 5, three days after the Independent Community Bankers Association of America filed an administrative lawsuit against the OCC challenging its rules on trust charters.

Rain applies to OCC to establish a National Trust Bank

On October 5, stablecoin payment company Rain announced that it had submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank called "Rain National Trust Bank" in the United States. The proposed bank will be headquartered in New York, USA.

According to the plan, Rain National Trust Bank will become an independently funded subsidiary under OCC supervision, while the Rain parent company itself will continue to be a payment platform. If approved, the bank will serve institutional customers through three business lines:

1. Provide trust custody services: Custody of approved digital assets and U.S. dollars to ensure that customer assets are strictly separated from the bank's own assets.
2. Manage stablecoin reserves: Manage the reserves of compliant stablecoin issuers under the framework of the Federal GENIUS Act.
3. Issue stablecoins: As the issuer of record, issue and redeem dollar-backed stablecoins.

Rain CEO and co-founder Farooq Malik said that institutions using Rain's services want their assets to be held by trustees who are bound by federal regulators. He emphasized that the trust bank would be an independent subsidiary and would be subject to OCC inspections.

Rain emphasized that the bank will not accept deposits from the public, provide retail accounts, make commercial loans, and is not eligible for FDIC insurance. In addition, the reserves corresponding to any stablecoins issued by the bank will not be pledged, borrowed or reused. Customer assets are always owned by their owners, not the bank's liabilities.

Brandon Soto has been nominated as the proposed president and CEO, a move that is subject to OCC review. Soto previously served as chief financial officer of Coastal Financial Corporation and previously served as chief financial officer of Square Financial Services, a Utah chartered industrial bank owned by Block.

Soto said: "The first responsibility of a trust bank is simple: to know what it holds, for whom it is held, and to ensure its safety."

Community bankers challenge OCC in court

Rain filed his application at the right time-just three days ago, on October 2, the Independent Community Bankers of America filed a lawsuit against the OCC and its Commissioner Jonathan Gould in federal court in Washington, D.C., heard by Judge Carl J. Nichols.

The association challenged the rules issued by the OCC in March 2026, Explanation Letter 1176, and the conditional approval granted to Protego Holdings. The lawsuit argued that the OCC allowed trust banks to engage in non-fiduciary activities "far beyond" its legal authority. The court has not yet ruled on this claim.

The OCC said that its rules, which came into effect on April 1, only clarified long-standing powers and did not expand or reduce its concession ability.

Currently, other encryption companies are also advancing the application process for licensing licenses. Circle received final approval from the OCC in July, Agora received preliminary conditional approval in September, and Zerohash submitted a revised application in August.

Rain hired Paul Hastings law firm to assist in the application process. The company called the project a multi-year effort and said its existing card, wallet and money transfer businesses would remain unchanged.

The OCC's review process will include a public comment period, and a final decision date has not yet been set. An OCC spokesman said Monday that the agency does not comment on the lawsuit. The public portion of the Rain application is expected to be posted on the OCC website in the next few days.