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James Stevens

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James is the co-leader of the firm’s Financial Services Industry Group. He has significant experience working with clients across the entire financial services sector, regularly working with public and private companies such as banks, neobanks, marketplace lenders, and other fintech and financial services providers and partners.

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On July 31, the OCC and FDIC jointly issued a proposed rule to significantly amend their existing Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations that have been in place since 1995.  While the proposal would retain key elements of the regulatory framework, it seeks to better align the regulations with CRA’s statutory mandate of encouraging banks to meet the credit needs of their communities by making “targeted” substantive, technical, and process-oriented changes and narrowing the scope of the rules.  Toward that end, the proposal focuses on the lending test, ensures that community development grants reach the communities they are intended to benefit, and narrows the range of retail banking services the agencies consider for CRA credit by excluding deposit services.  The proposed rule also seeks to provide greater clarity on how a bank receives CRA consideration and to reduce burden on banks (particularly community banks). Notably, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) did not join the proposal.

In this crossover episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, Taylor Gess is joined by colleagues James Stevens and Sarah Hanna from Troutman Pepper Locke’s Corporate and Consumer Financial Services practices to discuss the surge of interest among fintech and point-of-sale finance companies in obtaining bank charters, acquiring existing banks, and forming bank partnerships. With the current administration signaling an open-for-business posture at the federal banking agencies, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) actively encouraging de novo applications, payment and fintech companies are weighing their options more seriously than they have in years. The conversation covers what is driving the spike in charter applications, including from companies in the crypto, lending, and payments spaces, and how specialty charters are factoring into that trend. James and Sarah also walk through the bank partnership landscape, where enforcement activity has cooled and focus has shifted, and explain how acquiring an existing bank charter compares to starting from scratch on timing, cost, and regulatory complexity. The episode closes with practical guidance for point-of-sale finance companies considering any of these three paths, including why building internal compliance infrastructure early, engaging regulators informally, and retaining regulatory counsel sooner rather than later can make or break a successful launch.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Mark Furletti, James Stevens, and Taylor Gess to unpack the surge in bank charter applications from fintechs, crypto firms, and even traditional community banking entrepreneurs. The panel explores the appeal of national trust banks and industrial banks, as well as access to Fed payment rails and stablecoin issuance. They walk through the impacts of charter type, location, interest rate “exportation,” and preemption of state usury laws, including the nuanced role of branch-state activities. The conversation also offers a look at life inside the regulatory perimeter — exams, board oversight, and evolving supervisory focus — so nonbanks can realistically assess both the benefits and challenges of pursuing a bank charter in today’s regulatory environment.

Payward Financial’s Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI), Kraken Financial, has received a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, giving it direct access to the Federal Reserve’s core payment infrastructure. The approval, initially for a one-year term, allows Kraken Financial to connect directly to Fedwire and other Fed payment rails, a capability traditionally limited to insured financial institutions. As a general matter, digital assets, fintech and other firms that are not FDIC-insured have generally depended on correspondent banking relationships to move fiat funds over these payment rails.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Lori Sommerfield and James Stevens to delve into the implications of President Trump’s Executive Order 14331, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans.” This order aims to eliminate politicized or unlawful de-banking practices by prohibiting financial institutions from denying access to banking services based on political, religious, or ideological beliefs. The trio discusses the historical context of de-banking, tracing its roots back to the Obama-era Operation Choke Point, and explores the current regulatory landscape shaped by the executive order. They analyze the directives issued to federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the potential risks and challenges facing financial institutions. Tune in to understand how this regulatory push will likely impact the banking industry and what steps institutions can take now to mitigate risks.

In this special crossover episode of The Crypto Exchange and Payments Pros podcasts, hosts Ethan Ostroff and Carlin McCrory, along with James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, explore the dynamic landscape of partnerships between financial institutions and digital asset firms. They discuss the increasing demand for payment enablement, highlighting how these institutions facilitate fiat currency transactions through strategic collaborations with digital asset providers.

In this special crossover episode of The Crypto Exchange and Payments Pros podcasts, hosts Ethan Ostroff and Carlin McCrory, along with James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, explore the dynamic landscape of partnerships between financial institutions and digital asset firms. They discuss the increasing demand for payment enablement, highlighting how these institutions facilitate fiat currency transactions through strategic collaborations with digital asset providers.

On July 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) jointly issued a statement addressing the safekeeping of crypto-assets by banking organizations on behalf of their customers. This announcement clarifies how existing laws, regulations, and risk management principles apply to the safekeeping of crypto-assets by banks and does not create any new supervisory expectations. Importantly, the federal banking regulators clearly signal that banks can serve as custodians of digital assets including storing cryptographic keys.

On June 17, the U.S. Senate voted 68-30 to pass S.1582, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, known as the GENIUS Act (the Act). This represents a landmark effort by the U.S. Congress to establish a comprehensive federal framework for the regulation of payment stablecoins. Passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, the Act aims to provide regulatory clarity, enhance consumer protection, and safeguard national security in the rapidly growing stablecoin sector.