Washington, D.C. – November 19, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — The Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators announced today that the Pennsylvania Department of Banking has achieved accreditation under the joint CSBS-AARMR Mortgage Supervision Accreditation Program. The Pennsylvania agency is the first state mortgage regulator to receive this recognition since AARMR and CSBS agreed earlier this year to accredit their members jointly.
The accreditation signifies that the Pennsylvania Banking Department has demonstrated conformance with the nationwide standards of mortgage supervision and regulation set by state regulators. In announcing the certification, Neil Milner, president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, congratulated Pennsylvania Secretary of Banking Steve Kaplan and his staff, commenting that the new accreditation acknowledges the fact that the states are the front-line regulators of the mortgage industry.
“We believe that this new CSBS-AARMR designation demonstrates in the most concrete fashion that state mortgage regulators are well positioned to fulfill the responsibilities placed on them by state and federal legislation, including the federal SAFE Act,” Milner said.
“In our current economic environment, it is clear that strong financial regulation by the states is needed more than ever,” Kaplan remarked. “Governor Rendell’s leadership and strong support in our General Assembly has allowed Pennsylvania to become a national leader in consumer protection and marketplace integrity.”
The goal of the CSBS-AARMR Mortgage Accreditation program is to encourage state mortgage regulatory agencies to enhance their capability to promote excellence in mortgage regulation and protect consumers without undue burden to industry.
AARMR President Mark Pearce said, “This is the latest example of how States are continuing to raise the bar on mortgage regulation and consumer protection. This rigorous accreditation holds our member States accountable for having the capacity to effectively supervise the mortgage industry.”
In the last several years, AARMR and CSBS have launched the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System to provide a web-based licensing and supervisory platform, the Multistate Mortgage Committee to coordinate examinations of the largest mortgage companies and leveraged advanced compliance software programs to analyze loan level data at mortgage companies.
The Mortgage Accreditation program involves a comprehensive review of the critical elements that assure a state regulator’s ability to discharge its mortgage supervisory responsibilities.
Details about the Mortgage Supervision Accreditation program may be found on the CSBS Web site at http://www.csbs.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProfessionalDevelopment/DepartmentAccreditation/department_accredita.htm
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The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization for state banking, representing the bank regulators of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and approximately 6,000 state-chartered financial institutions. CSBS also is responsible for improving the quality of state bank supervision by providing department performance evaluation and accreditation programs and supervisory education/training programs for state banking department personnel.
AARMR is the national organization representing state residential mortgage regulators. AARMR’s mission is (a) to promote the exchange of information between and among the executives and employees of the various states who are charged with the responsibility for the administration and regulation of residential mortgage lending, servicing and brokering.
Information Contacts:
Georgia High, Vice President, Accreditation and Certification, Conference of State Bank Supervisors (202) 728-5706
Ed Novak, Director of Communications, Pennsylvania Department of Banking (717) 783-4721
