Sen. Elizabeth Warren has stepped up pressure on federal regulators to reject a national trust bank charter sought by World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture led by the Trump family. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Warren said the application raises questions about regulatory integrity and public trust, and she demanded greater transparency before any approval.
Ownership disclosure became the central issue
The dispute centers on World Liberty Financial’s application, filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in January. The charter would let the firm offer digital asset custody and stablecoin conversion services, but it would not allow traditional deposit-taking. That has put the spotlight on disclosure rules, especially whether the filing fully identifies major stakeholders and any potential conflicts.
Warren pressed Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould during the hearing, saying that anyone holding 10% or more of World Liberty Financial must be disclosed before the application can move ahead. She pointed to OCC rules requiring applicants to report shareholders at that threshold, along with detailed biographical and financial information.
Reported foreign stake drew direct scrutiny
She also cited a reported 49% stake acquired by a United Arab Emirates entity before Trump’s inauguration, asking whether that foreign ownership was fully disclosed in the bank application. Gould did not address the specific case. He said only that he would follow established procedures and referred to the OCC’s 131-page licensing manual.
Warren then asked for the unredacted application to be made available for review by her and Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott. Gould stayed cautious and did not commit to providing the full filing, repeating that he would adhere to existing process.
Charter review now sits inside a broader political fight
During the exchange, Warren tied the application directly to conflict-of-interest concerns involving the president. She called Trump’s crypto company “the most disgraceful presidential corruption scandal in HISTORY” and argued that this case demands a higher level of scrutiny because a sitting or former president having a pending bank application is highly unusual. The hearing turned the charter review into a sharper confrontation over crypto oversight, bank licensing standards, and the handling of politically connected applicants.