Trump's Bank Gets Approval, with UAE Royal Family Holding 49% Stake

World Liberty Financial, a company backed by the Trump family and the Abu Dhabi royal family, has received preliminary conditional approval to establish a federally chartered national trust bank in the United States. The bank will hold assets on behalf of clients nationwide and facilitate payment settlements more quickly.

The largest shareholder is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the national security advisor of the United Arab Emirates, who holds 49% of the bank's holding company WLTC Holdings through an entity called StringZ Holding RSC. The Trump family owns 38%. This arrangement raises concerns about the potential for foreign influence over a US financial institution.

The OCC's approval of World Liberty's application follows the passage of the Genius Act, which allowed approved stablecoin companies to directly hold reserve assets backing their tokens. World Liberty launched its dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1 last year and has a market cap of $4 billion.