WASHINGTON—Firms offering online loans, smartphone payments and other financial-technology products would get new flexibility to expand and further shake up the U.S. banking industry under a proposed new federal policy.
华盛顿 – 一项新的联邦政策提案将会让提供网贷、智能手机支付以及其他金融科技产品的公司在业务扩张和重塑美国银行业上获得更多灵活度。
A top regulator said Friday that his agency would for the first time start granting banking licenses to “fintech” firms, giving them greater freedom to operate across the country without seeking state-by-state permission or joining with brick-and-mortar banks.
一位监管机构高层周五（2016年12月2日）称，其所属部门将首次向金融科技公司发放银行牌照，以给予这些公司在全国范围内运营时得到更多自由，后者无需向各州单独申请许可或与传统银行联合。
The move could open the door to more competition between the old and new financial firms, and provide a bigger opening for some large tech companies to consider new ways to offer digital payments or other services.
该举措可能导致新、旧金融公司之间更激烈的竞争，同时为一些大型科技公司在考虑提供新的电子支付方式或其他服务时提供更开放的环境。
The announcement by Thomas Curry, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, was a significant move by regulators struggling to strike a balance between encouraging innovation while extending traditional protections to new financial products that have boomed since the financial crisis.
这份由美国货币监理署主管 Thomas Curry 发表的声明是监管者寻求在“鼓励创新”和“扩大对自金融危机以来蓬勃发展的新金融产品的传统保护”之间取得平衡时做出的努力。
“It will be much better for the health of the federal banking system and everyone who relies on those institutions, if these companies enter the system through a clearly marked front gate, rather than through some back door,” Mr. Curry said at a conference Friday at Georgetown University Law Center.
周五，在一场举办于乔治城大学法律中心的会议上，Curry 先生表示：“如果这些公司能够依照清晰明确的渠道、而非隐蔽的途经进入体系，那么将有利于联邦银行系统和每个依赖这些机构的个体的健康运行。”
Firms that receive the OCC charter would still not be able to accept government-insured deposits without separate approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
持有 OCC 授予的牌照，但未取得联邦存款保险公司单独许可的公司，依然无法吸收政府担保的存款。
The proposed move was cheered by the tech sector that had long been seeking such an imprimatur, but jeered by financial institutions, some consumer groups and state regulators who see threats in the upending of the old order. Small banks in particular worry about new competition, while consumer advocates and others raised the specter of weaker protections for borrowers.
这一提案受到一直在寻求类似官方授权的科技行业的欢呼，但也受到金融机构，一些消费者团体以及国家监管机构的嘘声。小银行尤其担心新竞争，而消费者保护团体和其他组织则担心这一举措将会削弱对借款人的保护。
“We believe consumers will be at risk,” the coalition of state banking supervisors said. The group also argued that “a federal fintech charter will distort the marketplace” and that the OCC was “expanding its mandate absent statutory authority.”
“我们相信消费者将面临风险。”美国州银行监管协会称。该协会还表示：“一个联邦金融科技牌照将扭曲市场”，同时 OCC 在向“其缺少法定性权威的权限延伸。”
Today, virtually all technology companies join with banks in some fashion to access the payment system or make loans.
如今，几乎所有科技公司都在以某种方式与银行联合进入支付系统或发放贷款。
With a charter, fintech upstarts could possibly move to become independent from banking partners.
拥有一个牌照，金融科技新贵就可能从与银行的合作中独立出来。
“A surprisingly large number of players are very closely watching,” said Brian Peters, head of the Financial Innovation Now industry group, which represents big technology companies that offer some banking services.
“数量多的惊人的参与者们都保持密切关注，”一个代表着提供一些银行服务的大型科技公司的行业组织 Financial Innovation Now 的负责人 Brian Peters 如是说。
The fintech industry, led by firms such as Stripe Inc., LendingClubCorp. and Square Inc., has expanded rapidly in recent years.
近年来，以 Stripe Inc.， LendingClubCorp，和 Square Inc. 等公司为代表的金融科技行业在迅速扩张。
Mr. Curry said that between the U.S. and U.K. alone, there were now more than 4,000 such companies. Investment in the sector has increased from $1.8 billion to $24 billion world-wide in the past five years, he said.
Curry 先生称仅美、英两国，目前就已有超过4000家此类公司。他表示，过去五年，全球范围内进入这一领域的投资金额从18亿美元攀升至240亿美元。
Some fintech firms have complained that other countries, notably the U.K., have done more to update their regulatory systems to allow for financial experiments that could improve consumers’ experience.
一些金融科技公司抱怨称其他国家，尤其是英国，已经为旨在提升用户体验而启动的金融试验做出相应的监管系统升级。
Even before the OCC announcement, some fintech firms had sought a national license. One firm, Boston digital-payments pioneer Circle Internet Financial Ltd., said such a move would reduce the cost and complexity of doing business.
即便在 OCC 发表声明之前，一些金融科技公司就已在尝试获取全国许可。波士顿的一家电子支付领域的领先公司 Circle表示，这一举措能够降低成本和经营的复杂程度。
On Friday, small-business lender On Deck Capital Inc. said it would consider applying for the fintech charter.
周五，小微企业网贷提供商 On Deck 表示，公司将考虑申请金融科技牌照。
The proposal is open to public comment through Jan. 15 and is expected to generate significant reaction, following monthslong deliberations inside the OCC about whether to become the first U.S. federal regulator to allow nonbank fintech firms to possess some of the same powers that full-fledged banks do.
1月15日之前，这项提案将听取公众意见，并被期许会引起热烈反应，之后将在 OCC 经历长达数月的内部审议，以决定OCC是否成为美国首家允许非银行金融科技公司拥有与正规银行一些相同权利的联邦监管机构。
Consumer groups and banks have raised concerns about the rise of the fintech industry operating outside of federal supervision, with older financial institutions arguing that they would be disadvantaged if fintech firms can become banks. Many small banks have also collected fees by issuing loans or acting as money-transfer agents on behalf of tech firms. Now, they could be competing with those same partners.
消费者团体和银行已对金融科技行业在联邦监管之外运行的兴起表示担忧，老牌金融机构则称，如果金融科技公司能够成为银行，传统银行将处于不利地位。许多小银行也已通过代表科技公司发放贷款或充当转账代理人而收取费用。如今，他们都可能与同样的伙伴开展竞争。
Camden Fine, chief executive of the Independent Community Bankers of America, which represents small banks, said he had serious concerns with the notion of a fintech charter, which “poses risks to taxpayers and the financial system” if it allows startups to offer banking services without the same regulatory burdens.
代表小银行的美国独立社区银行家协会主席 Camden Fine 称其对金融科技牌照这一概念表示严重关切，并表示，如果牌照允许初创公司在缺少相同监管负担的情况下提供与银行相同的服务，将“对纳税人和金融系统造成威胁”。
A move to open up the federal banking system to fintech companies will depend on a number of important details, including the role of capital requirements, state-by-state interest-rate caps lenders have to abide by, and community reinvestment requirements.
做出对金融科技公司开放联邦银行系统开放的决定取决于若干重要细节，包括资本需求量、各州贷款方必须遵守的利率上限，和社区再投资要求。
It would also come in a new presidential administration that many expect to be more friendly to the financial-services industry in general. The term for Mr. Curry, who is appointed by the president, expires next year.
一个被认为整体而言对金融服务行业更友好的新领导班子也将加入。被总统任命的 Curry 先生的任期将于明年到期。
Friday’s charter proposal was broader than some expected, said Reuben Grinberg, an attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. While lending was anticipated to be covered by the proposal, the OCC also referred to “paying checks,” a sign that the charter would potentially open up businesses for fintech firms issuing debit cards or doing peer-to-peer payments. “I’m cautiously optimistic that a lot of firms will be exploring this,” Mr. Grinberg said.
周五的牌照提案的内容比一些人预料的更广泛，达维律师事务所的律师 Reuben Grinberg 表示 。尽管预料到提案涉及借贷，OCC 还提到“支付支票”，这一迹象表明，牌照有可能开放金融科技公司的借记卡或者进行点对点支付的业务。Grinberg 先生称，“我对很多公司将开展探索表示审慎乐观。”
In February, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a policy to encourage companies to develop untested financial products. The program has yet to be widely used.
今年2月，美国联邦消费者金融保护局宣布一项鼓励公司开发未经审核的金融产品的政策。该政策还未被广泛应用。
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