Wise Plunges 10% After US Regulators Deny Trust Bank Application
WSE sits 16% above its 52-week low of $10.36.
Summary
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied Wise's application for a national trust bank charter, blocking its plan to settle dollar payments directly with the Fed. The decision, driven by new Fed policies on payment system access, sent shares down 10%. Wise says it will reapply under the GENIUS Act framework for digital assets, signaling a pivot toward stablecoin-related infrastructure. This regulatory setback adds to existing legal overhangs, including a Belgian criminal probe into €500M in suspicious transactions. The denial is a material blow to Wise's US expansion strategy and raises questions about its ability to navigate shifting regulatory landscapes.
At the time of this announcement, WSE was trading at $12.00 on NASDAQ in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $14.6B. The 52-week trading range was $10.36 to $17.47. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Reuters.