Block, Inc. announced that it has submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. (“Builders Bank”), an uninsured national trust bank.
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If approved, Builders Bank would operate as a federally regulated national trust bank under OCC supervision and would provide custody and related fiduciary services, including for bitcoin and stablecoins. The charter would allow Block to support these activities through a consistent national framework as the business scales. Builders Bank would be an uninsured, non-deposit-taking national trust bank and would not accept deposits or make loans. The proposed charter would establish a federal supervisory framework for certain custody and related activities currently offered by Block.
“Building on Block’s experience in the digital asset space, our history with Square Financial Services, and the deep banking expertise of the team we’ve assembled, we believe Builders Bank is well positioned to support Block’s broader vision of economic empowerment,” said Lee Woolley, who would serve as President and CEO of Builders Bank. “We look forward to working with the OCC as we pursue a charter designed to support the secure custody of assets for Block and its customers.”
Woolley currently serves as Digital Asset Strategy Lead at Block and has more than two decades of banking and financial services experience. He previously served as President and CEO of Treasury Department Federal Credit Union and held senior banking leadership roles at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon.
The application is subject to review and approval by the OCC. Builders Bank would not commence operations unless and until it receives the required regulatory approvals.
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