The Trump family is set to enter the US banking business, with a company linked to the President’s family receiving preliminary approval to start a national bank. This will make Trump the first sitting US President whose children founded a bank.
World Liberty Financial, the Trump-linked crypto company, has received the green light from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the US banking regulator. The company still needs to meet certain conditions before getting final approval, according to Bloomberg.
The development comes as the US banking regulator is approving new bank charters at the fastest pace in almost 20 years. During the first 19 months of Trump’s second term, the OCC approved 22 bank charter applications. That is more than the number approved during the previous five years combined.
Around 40 companies have applied for new bank charters since the start of 2025. This is roughly equal to the total number of applications received during the previous 13 years. The OCC is also aiming to decide on applications within 120 days, compared with the months or even years the process could take earlier.
For example, Fidelity Digital Assets received approval in 71 days, while Upstart took 98 days and Bridge took 120 days. Nubank received approval in 121 days and Erebor in 125 days.
The median time during Trump’s second term was 126 days, compared with 176 days during Joe Biden’s presidency. However, World Liberty Financial took longer than most of these companies. It took 220 days to receive conditional approval. Coinbase took 181 days.
Many of the new applicants are fintech and digital-asset companies. These include stablecoin issuer Circle, consumer bank Nu Holdings and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
World Liberty Financial wants to expand the use of USD1, its dollar-backed stablecoin. The company said earlier this month that having a bank to hold the assets backing USD1 could reduce costs.
“Having a bank in which to store the assets backing the stablecoin would let them cut costs. It would also potentially add legitimacy to the stablecoin, and could even offer access to cheap funding or a government bailout in the event of a crisis,” it said.
Democratic lawmakers have raised questions. They are concerned that USD1 could give businesses a way to get closer to Trump while facing less strict regulation.
World Liberty Financial has denied this. The company says becoming a bank would actually bring more government oversight. It would have to follow rules on money laundering and customer protection and would face regular checks by the OCC.
Three World Liberty investors, including one of Trump’s sons and a businessman linked to the Abu Dhabi royal family, agreed to limit their influence over the bank’s management. The OCC said its career staff also reviewed the application.
The proposed bank initially did not have a chief financial officer. Zachary Witkoff, CEO of World Liberty Financial and son of businessman Steven Witkoff, was listed as board chairman. The company has since appointed Daniel Dietzel, former CFO of lending and brokerage firm Hidden Road Partners, as its CFO.
World Liberty Financial has not received final approval yet. The OCC said the company must meet several conditions, including maintaining a required level of capital and hiring an outside auditor.
The US banking system has seen the risks of weak management before. During the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s, more than 1,600 banks failed and taxpayers faced about $124 billion in direct costs.
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