It looks like Robinhood doesn’t want to be a federally-insured bank anymore.
CNBC reports that Menlo Park-based stock trading startup has withdrawn its bank charter application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It had filed for the charter earlier this year.
A Robinhood spokesperson said that the withdrawal was voluntary, while another source said that the move did not reflect a change in the startup’s plans.
“Robinhood will continue to focus on increasing participation in the financial system and challenging the industry to better serve everyone,” the spokesperson told CNBC. “We appreciate the efforts and collaboration of all the parties we worked with throughout this process.”
Robinhood’s withdrawal comes after a federal district in New York decided to shut down the “fintech charter,” a special exception that allowed fintech firms to quickly apply to become banks. A judge decided that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator issuing the charters, didn’t have the authority to do so, leaving startups no choice but to apply the traditional, more time-consuming way.
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