Blockchain enabled Figure Technologies applies for national bank charter
Figure Technologies (Figure™), a leader in transforming financial services through the power of blockchain technology has applied for a national bank charter from the Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC). Figure leverages its Provenance blockchain for loan origination, servicing, financing and now private fund services. The company was founded in 2018 by serial technology entrepreneur Mike Cagney, who also founded SoFi and built the company into a multi-billion dollar business under his leadership as CEO. “Figure is pursuing the charter to reduce the complexity of our business – we’ll have over 200 state licenses next year without such a charter,” said Mike Cagney, co-founder and CEO of Figure. “By reducing complexity, we can leverage the technology efficiencies we have to deliver financial solutions to traditionally underserved and underrepresented consumers, driving real financial inclusion.”
A national bank charter would allow Figure to offer a cohesive set of products and services nationwide, focus its compliance efforts on the requirements of a single regulator, reduce its legal and regulatory costs and risks, and offer its customers and business partners the security of dealing with a federally regulated and supervised national bank.
“This charter will allow Figure to originate loans to a greater number of consumers,” said Nick Ambrosini, EVP at Valley Strong. “As a community based Credit Union and strategic partner of Figure, this ultimately benefits Valley Strong and our members.”
This national bank charter is critical to delivering on the promise of financial services innovation that benefits consumers with new efficiencies and affordability. Cagney said that C.D. Davies, Head of Lending at Figure, will lead the company’s efforts to obtain the bank charter from the OCC and he will also become CEO of Figure Bank. Davies served as CEO of CitiMortgage and Head of Global Mortgage at Citibank and he also previously served as President of Home Loans at Capital One.
“This national bank charter will be instrumental in our efforts to continue to develop and deliver new financial products and services to communities across this country that really haven’t had access to affordable offerings,” Davies said. “I look forward to working with the OCC as we move forward on this journey.”
Figure has already developed the ability to dramatically shorten the time it takes to originate a loan and, through blockchain, has significantly reduced costs in origination, financing, servicing, and capital markets execution. Figure is developing a suite of accessible and innovative payment and point of sale (POS) financing services built on blockchain that will bring economical and accessible financial services to underserved customers (e.g., consumers who are unbanked or have limited credit histories).
