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Ripple says OCC granted final approval for trust bank

Ripple says the OCC has granted final approval for a trust bank that will manage RLUSD reserves and custody assets, while issuance stays with its New York trust company.

Merkle Street Newsroom#1984202 min read

Ripple says OCC granted final approval for trust bank

Ripple said on Oct. 26 that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had granted final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank, advancing federal oversight of the reserves behind its RLUSD stablecoin. The bank’s role is to manage those reserves, act as their trustee for holders and provide digital asset custody. It will not issue RLUSD; Ripple says that job stays with Standard Custody & Trust Company, its New York-regulated trust company. Ripple’s announcement describes the approval and the bank’s planned activities.

What will the new trust bank do with RLUSD?

RNTB will manage the segregated assets backing RLUSD and act as collateral trustee for the benefit of token holders, according to Ripple. That means the bank will oversee the reserve assets and hold a fiduciary role connected to them. Standard Custody & Trust Company will continue to issue the stablecoin under New York Department of Financial Services regulation. Ripple says the new charter adds OCC supervision to the framework supporting RLUSD.

The structure divides the work between two entities: Standard Custody issues the tokens, while the national trust bank manages reserves and performs trustee duties. The OCC’s December 2025 conditional approval letter also described reserve management and fiduciary custody as proposed activities. The Block’s report says the trust charter does not permit deposit-taking or lending, unlike a full-service commercial bank.

When can RNTB begin operating?

Ripple has not given an opening date in its announcement. Final approval follows a preliminary conditional approval granted by the OCC on Dec. 12, 2025. That letter said the bank could not begin business until it met the regulator’s pre-opening requirements and received final authorization. The new approval clears that remaining chartering step, according to Ripple’s announcement.

Will the bank issue RLUSD or hold customer crypto?

It will not issue RLUSD. Ripple says Standard Custody & Trust Company remains the issuer, while RNTB is authorized to provide fiduciary digital asset custody once it opens. Ripple’s release says the custody service can support institutional customers beyond the stablecoin reserve arrangement.

The distinction matters because a trust bank charter gives RNTB a defined set of federally supervised trust and custody functions. It does not turn Ripple into a conventional deposit-taking bank. For RLUSD holders, the change is that reserve management and trustee duties are set to sit within a federally supervised bank, while token issuance remains with the New York-regulated company.

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