The industrial loan company charter, available in a handful of states and particularly popular in Utah, allows nonfinancial companies to enter the banking sector without being subject to many of its restrictions, including oversight by the Federal Reserve. Companies seeking the charters must still obtain deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which last approved insurance for an industrial loan company in 2008. That could soon change. President Donald Trump’s pick to head the FDIC, Jelena McWilliams, suggested during Senate testimony last month that she would look favorably on new applications. Frank Pignanelli, executive director of the Utah-based National Association of Industrial Bankers, said that over the past year he has fielded more than a dozen inquiries expressing interest in the corporate structure, from both fintech firms and other companies.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fintech-firms-look-to-enter-banking-via-century-old-tactic-1518085801