Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS

DAVID Y. IGE
GOVERNOR

CATHERINE P. AWAKUNI COLÓN

DIRECTOR

IRIS IKEDA

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS COMMISSIONER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 5, 2015

State Division of Financial Institutions Receives Mortgage Supervision Accreditation

 HONOLULU –  The State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ (DCCA) Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) received a certificate of accreditation for mortgage supervision from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR).

This mortgage supervision accreditation is a first for the division and confirms that DFI maintains the highest standards and practices in mortgage supervision set by the CSBS/AARMR Mortgage Accreditation Program. CSBS began the accreditation program in 2008.  DFI commenced licensing and supervision in 2011 and examinations in 2013.  The division applied for the accreditation in 2014 and received the accreditation in 2015.

“In about 18 months of fully implementing our mortgage program, the division was able to show that it met the standards of excellence.  Our staff has worked hard with the resources available to use technology to efficiently and appropriately license, supervise and examine the mortgage industry,” said Commissioner Iris Ikeda.  “I am proud of our mortgage program and our staff for the professional, hardworking, and conscientious job they do in enforcing Hawaii’s mortgage laws.”

DFI is responsible for licensing, regulating, supervising and examining the state’s 1450 mortgage loan originators, 235 mortgage loan originator companies and 118 mortgage servicer companies, as well as chartering, supervising and examining the state’s financial institutions, money transmitters and escrow depositories.

The CSBS and AARMR mortgage accreditation program aims to strengthen state mortgage regulators and to demonstrate the high quality of state regulatory agencies to the general public, the federal banking agencies, Congress, and other state regulatory agencies.

The accreditation process begins with completion of an extensive self-evaluation questionnaire on all departmental operations: administration and finance, personnel, training, examination, supervision, and legislative powers. An external review team comprised of veteran state and federal regulators then performs an on-site review and presents its findings to an audit team and to the Performance Standards Committee. The members then vote on the reports of the review team and the audit team.

Background on CSBS and AARMR
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization of banking regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. State banking regulators supervise almost 5,200 state-chartered financial institutions. Further, most state banking departments also regulate a variety of non-bank financial service providers, including mortgage providers. For more than a century, CSBS has given state supervisors a national forum to coordinate supervision of their regulated entities and to develop regulatory policy. CSBS also provides training to state banking and financial regulators and represents its members before Congress and the federal financial regulatory agencies.

The American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) is the national organization representing state residential mortgage regulators. AARMR’s mission is to promote the exchange of information and education concerning the licensing, supervision and regulation of the residential mortgage industry, to ensure the ability of state mortgage regulators to provide effective mortgage supervision for a safe and sound industry meeting the needs of the local financial markets, and to protect the rights of consumers.

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