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As stated in the article cited, this is referring to a July 22, 2020 letter of “the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).”The OCC is part of the US Treasury, and oversees licensing and chartering of national banks. (State licensed banks are not under OCC, but under supervision of the State that licenses them.)In fact, though, the OCC is playing a bit of catch-up with this July 2020 letter. The State of Wyoming already has established crypto-fiat bank law, licensing and custody rules for the same, and has done so without resorting to fractional reserve systems, all while requiring that clients be given the choice of how custody shall occur.It would seem, therefore that the OCC is simply realizing the success of the Wyoming model over the past couple of years, sees the future of both bitcoin and stablecoins, and is eager to encourage other states to follow in Wyoming's footsteps.The OCC was likely also following the path and interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court issued in mid-2019, in the Total Wine case - which was a defining case on the application of the Commerce Clause not just in relation to wine but to any product or service. (See reference 3.)This effectively ends any efforts we've seen over the past five years toward a “NY bitlicense” or “California bitlicense” model for the 50 states in line with the ULC attempts - thankfully, the ULC model is dead on arrival, and the existing NY bitlicense system will be contained to that imprisoned island (NY) where it will die out eventually. The Wyoming model - requiring just one (state) bank license, if you want it, covering 50 states, instead of 50 Money transmitter licenses and / or 50 bitlicenses - will be a beacon for states that look to attract businesses that are fleeing the Western Wall, fleeing blue states and/or fleeing high tax / high regulatory states - the OCC basically just gave banks, and states, the green light to go ahead with a crypto custody solution that anyone can use in existing or new institutions.References: why OCC is following WyomingNew SEC/FINRA Staff Statement On Digital Securities Favors WyomingWhat Do Wyoming's 13 New Blockchain Laws Mean? (Since the publication of this article, Wyoming's law on SPDIs has been amended to allow both corporate (institutional) and retail (individual) depositors.)Opinion analysis: A total victory for Total Wine in 21st Amendment dispute - SCOTUSblogWyoming is the only state currently in the USA to have done all of the below: adopted state laws requiring reserves for the new crypto-fiat systems it has authorized, adopted state laws which acknowledge that you are the title holder to your private keys of your digital assets (bitcoin, etc) whether you have it in managed custody or self-managed cold storage, and has adopted law that prohibits rehypothecation of your digital assets when you have them under custody in a new form of Wyoming crypto-fiat institution, known as a SPDI. Additionally, Wyoming is the only state in the USA to explicitly recognize that you are the owner of your coins / keys regardless of how you choose to store your coins, and is the only state in the USA that expressly requires that the client be able to decide how to custody coins (fully managed custody, self custody, multisignature, or smart contract) when the client has an account with the crypto-fiat bank, or SPDI. Finally, Wyoming also exempts digital assets from being taxed by the state as property, thus, the state does not add new tax burden to the business owner or asset holder.

“The Volcker Rule is a federal regulation that generally prohibits banks from conducting certain investment activities with their own accounts and limits their dealings with hedge funds and private equity funds, also called covered funds.″Source:The Volcker Rule - InvestopediaHow are banks seeking authority to engage in real estate activities?Offer real estate services. “Large, national banks have asked the federal government to define real estate as a financial activity, rather than a commercial one, a change that would allow banking conglomerates to make real estate brokerage and management part of their service offerings. In 2001, in response to this request, the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Department of the Treasury proposed rules that would recognize this new definition, but the U.S. Congress, at the urging of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and other organizations, has prevented the agencies from finalizing their rules through an annual prohibition included in the legislation that funds the Treasury Department each year.”Develop and own real estate. “Various banks have asked for, and in December 2005 received, expanded authority from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to develop commercial real estate. No one questions that banks should be allowed to build and own their own offices and branches, as well as rent out space they don’t need. But these rulings allow for more than that. The rationale of the OCC rulings is that the proposed developments are necessary for the banks to accommodate their business operations. As a result of the OCC letters, three of the country’s largest national banks — Bank of America, PNC Bank, and Union Bank of California — have the go-ahead to develop and own hotels, build and sell condominiums to make a multi-use project economically feasible, and maintain an equity interest in a windmill farm in California, respectively.”Source:Keeping Banks Out of Real Estate

The question is about regulation, so the answer is no more than yes.Insurance companies do not fall under federal regulation. They are regulated by one or more state agencies. With “banks” they may be regulated by FDIC, Federal Reserve board for banks, or the OCC, so there IS some federal agency involved.Insurance Companies vs. Banks: What's the Difference?As to investments, many investments are under the control of rules for Wall Street, the SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, so in that regard more similar than not.I suspect that many insurers do have some major differences as well, possibly because of their “home state.”I am thinking maybe you are sort of asking about annuities.Here is more specific info on those:Annuities“Fixed annuities are not considered securities and therefore are not subject to federal or state securities regulation. On the other hand, variable annuities are considered to be securities under federal law and the laws of some states. Certain states consider variable annuities to be strictly insurance products, while other states consider them to be both insurance and securities. In states where variable annuities are regulated by both the state’s insurance and securities regulator, variable annuities must be registered with both state regulators.”Informed Investor Alert: Annuities - NASAAAnd they go on to note this:“How are annuities sold?Bank Financial Advisers: Your bank’s financial adviser may have various roles, depending on the products the bank hopes to sell. Remember, annuities are not covered by FDIC insurance. Be sure to understand the commissions that are paid to your local bank’s financial adviser for selling annuities and other products. It is natural for long-time customers to feel more comfortable and trusting in their bank. However, remember to remove emotion from your decision to buy any financial product. Verify before you buy!Free Lunch Seminars: Be cautious about “free lunch” seminars. Although these seminars are touted as “educational,” the ultimate goal is the sale of a product. Attendees should research and examine the products and check that the promoter is licensed to sell these products. Fraud is prevalent at some seminars. Verify before you buy!High Pressure Sales: Salespeople entice investors with an attractive interest rate offer only to pressure them to buy another, potentially unsuitable, financial product. Don’t lose sight of your investment goals.Professional Designations: Beware of professional-sounding designations. Don’t be lured into a false sense of security by letters after a salesperson’s name. Those claiming a special designation may not be licensed to sell securities or provide investment advice. Or, they may use designations to convey expertise they may lack. Understand what the designations mean before turning over any of your hard-earned money.”To be clear (I hope) annuities are NOT part of the BANK’S investments, but I think people when they can BUY them through their bank, may assume that there ARE protections OR that the bank IS INVESTED in the annuity or somehow really involved in a way that “protects” the customer.“ Annuities in BanksIn the past, a common reaction from the bank was to offer annuities to a customer who needed more than a plain-vanilla deposit account. Banks get insurance licenses for select employees so that they can offer these products, and the employee is rewarded either through a commission or the bank’s incentive program. An alternative arrangement might be to have independent third-parties offer products that the bank doesn’t offer (as a way to offer more to customers).By selling an annuity, the bank is able to keep a relationship with the customer and generate some revenue. However, what if the customer needed something besides that annuity? For a long time, annuities were the favored arrow in the bank’s quiver of alternative offerings. With just an insurance license, the bank can offer a lot of different options.Some banks even contact customers proactively to offer annuities. Customers with large cash balances get letters and phone calls letting them know that the bank does more than just savings and CDs.”Annuity Sales in Banks and What You Need to KnowWith the tight limit on characters IN a question it is hard to know exactly what you are looking for as an answer. Both banks and insurance companies can go bankrupt. Remedies for those affected are different. I suspect the best person to answer might actually be a very specialized financial services ATTORNEY, but bet he’d also not be clear on what the essence of the question is without more feedback. You may also mean for “investments” the facts that insurers buy into each others risk pools so that risk is spread around even more.You can count on the fact that the more you try to narrow down aspects of what you are looking for the trickier it will be to get “the” answer because there are SO many fingers in the pie and there are “kinds” of insurance and “banks” (technically a bank is different from a credit union and from S&Ls but people tend to use the term bank for ANY institution that offers checking and savings accounts which all THREE of those DIFFERENT (legally) institutions most certainly do.) Is a savings and loan company different from a commercial bank?