Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2025) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today expressed strong opposition to Nissan’s application to form a financial institution that receives federal deposit insurance while avoiding full regulatory oversight. In today’s letter, ICBA urged the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to reject Nissan’s deposit insurance application for its proposed industrial loan company, Nissan Bank.
“ICBA and the nation’s community banks strongly oppose the approval of deposit insurance applications from industrial loan companies, which present outsized risks to the Deposit Insurance Fund, financial stability, consumers, and taxpayers,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said today. “The FDIC should deny ILC applications from Nissan and other commercial companies to avoid allowing commercial firms to benefit from the federal safety net while avoiding prudential regulation and supervision at the holding company level. Any company that wishes to own a full-service bank should be subject to the same restrictions and supervision that apply to any other bank holding company.”
As ICBA has detailed in a comprehensive white paper, the ILC charter allows applicants’ parent companies to own and operate FDIC-insured banks while avoiding the Bank Holding Company Act regulations that apply to other traditional banks. In addition to creating conflicts of interest, the commercial activities of ILC applicants pose risks to the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund, the financial system, and consumer privacy.
Further, only Utah and a few other states grant ILC charters, allowing this handful of states to dictate U.S. banking policy while serving as safe havens for companies that are unwilling to comply with the same set of rules and regulations that otherwise apply to the traditional bank charter.
ICBA’s call for the FDIC to reject Nissan’s application aligns with recent ICBA polling showing consumer concerns with the ILC loophole. According to the polling of U.S. adults conducted by Morning Consult in June:
61% — including 64% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans — agree that allowing commercial companies to own banks without being subject to all banking regulations could make the financial system riskier.
59% — including 61% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans — agree that the ILC charter creates a loophole for companies to avoid regulations that traditional banks must follow.
Today’s ICBA comment letter is available on its website.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.