Sony Bank gets conditional OCC approval for US trust bank to issue dollar-backed stablecoin

Sony Bank, the online banking division of Sony Financial Group in Japan, has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Connectia Trust, National Association, a New York-based national trust bank subsidiary that will issue and manage U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins. The announcement came on Tuesday, July 9, 2026, with the OCC publishing its conditional approval. Sony Bank will own 100% of the subsidiary, which will be capitalized with $40 million, according to CoinDesk and PYMNTS. The bank plans to launch the trust bank in 2027, subject to further approvals in both Japan and the United States, and has partnered with Bastion Platforms for issuance, reserve management, and custody. No business activities, including stablecoin issuance, will occur until all approvals, including final OCC approval, are obtained.

Background

Sony Bank submitted a de novo trust bank application to the OCC last October, as reported by American Banker, joining a wave of financial firms seeking federal trust charters over the past year. The move is part of Sony Financial Group's broader push to modernize digital payments across Sony's global entertainment ecosystem, which includes video games, anime, movies, and music. Sony Bank has been working on stablecoins since early 2024, when it trialed coins linked to the yen and other currencies on the Polygon blockchain, exploring their use for Sony Group digital sales such as games, according to Ledger Insights. In December of last year, Sony Financial Group announced a partnership with California-based Bastion Platforms to provide stablecoin services for Sony Bank. Bastion is itself pursuing a national trust charter from the OCC through a conversion application. The OCC approval comes as U.S. regulators advance stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act, which establishes a comprehensive federal framework for payment stablecoins. Ledger Insights notes that Japan has yet to grant full approval to any trust-type stablecoin, with SBI's still awaiting full approval, and that a direct U.S. charter was likely a far quicker path than relying on GENIUS Act provisions for comparable foreign regimes.

What happened

Sony Bank announced on Tuesday that it received conditional approval from the OCC to establish Connectia Trust as a new U.S. national trust bank subsidiary, according to American Banker. The OCC also published its conditional approval of Sony's national trust bank charter application. Sony Bank submitted its de novo trust bank application last October. The bank plans to open Connectia Trust in 2027, according to the International Business Times, as cited by American Banker. CoinDesk reported that the New York-based subsidiary will be capitalized with $40 million and fully owned by Sony Bank. PYMNTS confirmed the $40 million capitalization and 100% ownership. Sony Financial Group stated that the trust subsidiary is intended to contribute to the development of a medium-to-long-term business foundation for its digital asset businesses. The company emphasized that until all approvals and other authorizations, including the OCC's final approval, have been obtained, no business activities, including the issuance of stablecoins, will be conducted. Sony Financial Group previously announced in December of last year a partnership with Bastion Platforms, which will manage issuance, reserve management, and custody for Sony's U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin once formally launched. Ledger Insights noted that the planned U.S. business includes the issuance and management of a dollar-denominated stablecoin, targeting a 2027 launch subject to further approvals in both Japan and the United States. Sony Bank aims to support the U.S. expansion of Sony Group companies and to contribute to creators and fan communities by creating experiences befitting the digital age, according to Ledger Insights.

Market impact

CoinDesk reported that stablecoin transaction volume hit a $1.79 trillion record last month, 63% more than in May and more than double the year-earlier level, according to Visa's onchain dashboard. Dollar-pegged tokens account for more than 99% of the total $311 billion market capitalization, according to DeFiLlama data. Market leaders USDT and USDC alone account for about $250 billion of the total. A wave of potential rivals has also won conditional approval from the OCC for federal trust-bank structures tied to stablecoin businesses, including Stripe-owned Bridge, Paxos, and Circle Internet, CoinDesk noted. Yahoo Finance reported that Sony Group (TSE:6758) is trading at ¥3,409.0, roughly flat over 1 year, with gains of 40.1% over 3 years and 61.8% over 5 years. The stock is about 27% below the average analyst target of ¥4,686 and assessed as undervalued, trading about 20.1% below an estimated fair value. The share price has declined about 1% over the past 30 days. Yahoo Finance also flagged recent significant insider selling as a risk. No specific flow or price data for the stablecoin itself was provided, as it has not yet launched.

Why it matters

The conditional approval allows Sony Bank to bring the entire stablecoin lifecycle in-house under a single federal regulator rather than relying on a third party's state trust charter and a patchwork of state money transmitter licenses, according to Evey Guo of FS Vector, as quoted by American Banker. Roman Goldstein, senior director at Klaros Group, told American Banker that Sony's charter will allow it to be the issuer of record for its stablecoin. Without its own charter, Sony would issue under someone else's license and inherit their regulatory risk, he said. With a national trust bank, it has a direct relationship with the regulator that sets the terms of stablecoin issuance, controls the compliance program, keeps the income on the reserves backing the stablecoin, and has a direct path to federal qualified issuer status under the GENIUS Act. Guo added that the charter helps Sony control their own destiny and capture the full yield on reserve assets instead of sharing that income with an intermediary partner. Sony Bank intends to use dollar-backed stablecoins to expand payment options within the Sony Group ecosystem for internal operations and customer use, including treasury operations, cross-border payments, and in-app digital currency payments for streaming and commerce in the entertainment sector. This could help Sony reduce transaction fees currently paid to card networks, as it did in 2013 when it connected PayPal to PlayStation consoles.