Trump’s World Liberty Bank Charter Advances as OCC Rejects Senator Warren Criticism

The application of a World Liberty Bank charter is set to proceed as the OCC responds to concerns raised by US Senator Warren. They rejected the calls of political ties amid the firm’s affiliation with President Trump.

OCC Responds to Warren on World Liberty’s Bank Charter Plans

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has said it would continue evaluating WLFI’s charter application despite concerns of its political ties. Head of the OCC, Jonathan Gould, wrote a letter to Senator Warren, stating the filing will be reviewed according to the regulator’s rules.

This comes after Warren wrote a stern letter telling the regulator to stop the review of the World Liberty Bank charter immediately. She cited the affiliation with President Trump and his family. Warren also added that it could have an effect on federal bank oversight.

In response, Gould maintained that the OCC is obliged to consider all applications according to the rules set in its books.

The OCC intends to act consistently with this duty rather than your demand,” he said. “The OCC intends to act consistent with this duty rather than vour demand. The OCC charter application process should be, and under my leadership will be, an apolitical and nonpartisan process.”

Gould also shared that the World Liberty Bank application will face strict scrutiny, as it has for previous applications. Senator Warren responded to the OCC head almost immediately, calling the OCC review a “sham.”

“Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who serves at the pleasure of President Trump, is refusing to delay the review of World Liberty Financial’s bank charter application until Trump and his family divest from the company,” Warren said. “The OCC’s review is a sham.”

Are Crypto Firms About to Become Banks?

There has been a growing trend of major crypto firms looking to acquire banking licenses. For instance, Paxos applied for its national banking license incense back in July 2025. They joined Circle and Ripple, which laid the groundwork for other applications, like the recent World Liberty Bank filing.

Notably, the regulator granted Ripple a conditional approval of its license last December. The firm could join other major banks as soon as the regulator completes its review.

This was only possible thanks to previous changes made by the regulator. The OCC recently allowed banks to let their customers conduct crypto trades with no risk. This came just after they also allowed banks to hold tokens like Bitcoin, ETH, and XRP to pay gas fees for transactions.