Avant has applied for a national bank charter.
The fintech applied to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create Avant Bank. The bank would enable the fintech to expand access to affordable, transparent credit and offer banking products and financial health tools via a digital banking platform.
“We’ve spent more than thirteen years developing a data-driven approach to credit that serves this population at scale,” Al Goldstein, Avant’s co-founder and CEO, said in a press release. “A national bank charter would further our mission, help reduce our cost of funds, and enable us to offer products under one regulatory framework.”
Charles Whittaker, Avant’s chief business officer, would serve as the proposed bank’s CEO.
Avant, which currently offers credit products through WebBank, was advised by Klaros Group and Covington & Burling.