New York's Department of Financial Services marked its 15th anniversary this week by highlighting what it says are more than $765 million returned to residents over the past five years. The agency, which oversees banks, insurers and other financial companies statewide, also said it collected $575 million in penalties during that period, according to a release issued Friday.
The department was formed Oct. 3, 2011, when the state merged its banking and insurance departments. It now supervises more than 3,100 institutions holding nearly $10 trillion in assets, according to the agency. Those are statewide figures, not amounts specific to the Finger Lakes.
Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow credited current and former employees for the agency's work. The release did not provide a year-by-year breakdown of the consumer recoveries or penalties, nor did it say how much went to residents of individual counties.
Consumer protections and financial oversight
In its anniversary review, the department pointed to regulations for financial-services cybersecurity, virtual currency businesses and pharmacy benefit managers. It also cited rules intended to improve access to behavioral health treatment and make small-business financing terms easier to compare.
Other work cited by the agency includes oversight of mortgage and student-loan servicers, standards for sellers of insurance and annuities, auto-insurance reforms and enforcement against illegal payday lending. The release describes these as accomplishments since the department's founding, not new rules announced this week.
The agency said it has launched 60 Banking Development Districts to encourage banking access in underserved communities. It also cited its role in New York's paid family leave program and disaster-related insurance claims assistance.
More recently, the department established a climate-change division and issued guidance on artificial intelligence for companies it regulates, including insurers and virtual-currency firms, according to the release.
Residents seeking information about a bank, insurer or other regulated institution can use the Department of Financial Services website. The anniversary announcement did not introduce a new application deadline, benefit or action residents need to take.
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