PRESS RELEASE
June 12, 2008
Washington, D.C. — State financial regulators sent a joint letter to President Bush cautioning him that an Executive Order included in the U.S. Treasury’s Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure would diminish the interagency regulatory cooperation provided through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).
The American Council of State Savings Supervisors (ACSSS), the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors co-signed the letter as the three organizations that have representatives on FFIEC’s State Liaison Committee (SLC). The SLC Chairman is a voting member of FFIEC, the formal interagency body that determines uniform standards, practices and reporting processes for federal examinations of financial institutions.
The co-signers explain that the Executive Order to expand the scope and authority of the President’s Group on Financial Markets would consequently circumvent the Congressional intent to establish FFIEC as the primary forum for interagency coordination.
“Congress has organized the FFIEC as the proper mechanism for financial policy coordination and interagency regulatory cooperation,” stated the organizations. “The FFIEC is best positioned to draw upon federal and state expertise to enhance financial market integrity as it pertains to depository institutions.”
NASCUS, CSBS and ACSSS maintain that an expanded and broader role for the President’s Working Group will make FFIEC irrelevant, as policy development shifts to the purview of the Treasury Department. The SLC plays an important role in FFIEC, advising the Council on regulatory guidance and policy that affects the state regulatory system.
The letter was signed by ACSSS Chairman Douglas Foster, commissioner, Texas Department of Savings & Mortgage Lending; CSBS Chairman Tim Karsky, commissioner, North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions; and NASCUS Chairman George Reynolds, senior deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.
The letter can be viewed by clicking here.
Media Contacts:
CSBS Mary White 202-728-5715 mwhite@csbs.org
NASCUS Kate Hartig 703-528-0669 kate@nascus.org
ACSSS Andrea Falzarano 703-669-5440. afalzarano@mcs-amc.com
Information
Contact:
Kate Hartig, Director, Communications and Public Affairs,
(703) 528-0669 or kate@nascus.org
The
NASCUS mission is to enhance state credit union
supervision and advocate a safe and sound state
credit union system.
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