A new bank backed by tech billionaires is set to fill the void left by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, focusing on serving companies within the "innovation economy." Regulators have granted conditional approval for this initiative.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved the national bank charter application for Erebor Bank, named after the "lonely mountain" in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Erebor was co-founded by Palmer Luckey, known for his work with military contractor Anduril, and Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of data analytics firm Palantir. Both are supporters of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is among the bank’s backers.
The bank aims to support firms in sectors like cryptocurrency, AI, and defense, taking on a role previously filled by Silicon Valley Bank before its collapse in 2023. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould stated that the approval "proves that the OCC under my leadership does not impose blanket barriers to banks seeking to engage in digital asset activities. Permissible digital asset activities, like any other legally permissible banking activity, have a place in the federal banking system if conducted safely and soundly."