Wise Group (WSE) US OCC denies Wise trust bank charter application

Equity Research 24 July 2026 | 1:21AM BST

Wise Group (WSE): US OCC denies Wise trust bank charter application

Wise reported that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has Mohammed Moawalla | denied its application for a national trust bank charter. The company noted that Goldman Sachs International changes in U.S. payments regulation, including the GENIUS Act and evolving Federal Deepshikha Agarwal Reserve policy on master account access, have made its original trust bank approach | submitted over a year ago non-viable. The company, however, plans to submit a new Goldman Sachs India SPL

application under a GENIUS Act framework while continuing to invest in Uzair Merchant | strengthening its compliance programme. Wise also clarified that the OCC decision Goldman Sachs International does not affect its normal operations nor its portfolio of 80+ licenses globally. Ahlam Haouach | We note that Wise also has an ongoing investigation by the Brussels public Goldman Sachs International prosecutor related to anti-money laundering compliance at its Belgian subsidiary. Combined with the OCC charter denial, we expect the shares to remain under pressure as the regulatory overhang persists.

We are Buy rated on Wise (on CL). Our 12-month price targets for WISEa.L/WSE are 1,450p/US$19.50, based on a DCF valuation (11.2% WACC, 3.5% TGR).

Key risks to our view and price target are as follows: (1) Macroeconomic risks; (2) Slower-than-expected pace of shift to digital cross-border payments; (3) Execution on growth/growing pains; (4) FX exposure; (5) Competition; (6) Regulatory risks; (7) Potential compliance issues; (8) Cybersecurity; (9) Chargeback risks; and (10) Cryptocurrencies.

Goldman Sachs does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to Analysts employed by non-US affiliates are not registered/qualified as research analysts with FINRA in the U.S.

Goldman Sachs Wise Group (WSE)

WSE 12m Price Target: $19.50 Price: $12.08 Upside: 61.4%

WISEa.L 12m Price Target: 1,450p Price: 905.4p Upside: 60.2%

Buy CL GS Forecast 3/26 3/27E 3/28E 3/29E Market cap: $12.4bn Revenue ($ mn) 2,502.8 2,964.8 3,555.3 4,319.0 Enterprise value: $(26.0)bn EBIT ($ mn) ,015.4 3m ADTV: $14.2mn EPS ($) United Kingdom EV/sales (X) NM NM NM NM Europe Technology EV/EBITDA (X) NM NM NM NM M&A Rank: 3 P/E (X) Leases incl. in net debt & EV?: FCF yield (%) Yes Org. sales grth (%) -- -- -- --

Source: Company data, Goldman Sachs Research estimates, FactSet. Price as of 23 Jul 2026 close.