Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities Earns Bank, Mortgage Supervision Reaccreditations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 20, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) announced today that the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities has received certificates of accreditation, certifying that the Department maintains the highest standards and practices in state banking supervision, as set forth by the CSBS Bank Accreditation Program, and mortgage supervision, as set forth by the AARMR/CSBS Mortgage Accreditation Program.
This is the Department’s fifth bank reaccreditation, with the first occurring in 1986. This is also the Department’s second mortgage accreditation, with the first occurring in 2009.
“We are pleased to congratulate the entire staff of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities on receiving bank and mortgage supervision reaccreditation,” said CSBS President and CEO John W. Ryan. “This reaccreditation demonstrates the constant commitment of Secretary Glenn E. Moyer and his talented staff to maintaining top-notch standards in financial services supervision.”
“Congratulations to our colleagues in Pennsylvania,” said Rod Carnes, AARMR President and Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. “By receiving this mortgage accreditation, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities has shown its commitment to exceptional supervision of the commonwealth’s residential mortgage industry.”
“These reaccreditations are excellent reflections on the professionalism of our staff members, and their dedication to our work, our clients and each other,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Banking and Securities Glenn E. Moyer. “These certificates and recognition exemplify our efforts to maintain industry-leading standards and practices, a business-oriented approach to our regulated entities, and a focus on consumer protection.”
The CSBS Accreditation Program involves a comprehensive review of the critical elements that assure a banking department’s ability to discharge its responsibilities. This is done through an investigation of all department operations including administration and finance, personnel, training, examination, supervision, and legislative powers. The high standards set by the Accreditation Program support CSBS’s public interest goals by encouraging state banking departments to enhance their capability to promote safe and sound banking with a minimum of regulatory burden and cost and by identifying highly competent state banking departments.
To achieve mortgage accreditation, state agencies must undergo a voluntary comprehensive review by the CSBS and AARMR accreditation team. The accreditation process begins with the completion of an extensive self-evaluation questionnaire on all department operations, including administration and finance, personnel, training, examination, supervision, and legislative powers. An external review team comprised of veteran state 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.
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Catherine Woody, Vice President of Media and Industry Relations, 
Rockhelle Johnson, Senior Manager, Communications,
Matt Longacre, Manager, Communications, 
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 nearly 5,200 state‐chartered financial institutions. Further, most state banking departments also regulate a variety of non-bank financial services providers, including mortgage lenders. 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.
