Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) personnel maintain state financial regulators possess the expertise, data, and real-time insight into how companies are interacting with consumers and functioning in the marketplace.
During a recent task force session Washington Department of Financial Institutions Director Charlie Clark, representing the CSBS on a regulators panel, addressed fintech regulation before the House Committee on Financial Services’ Task Force on Financial Technology.
Clark, who also chairs the CSBS Non-Depository Supervisory Committee, said the current intersection between financial services and technology has accelerated change in the industry and for the state system.
“With industry participation, we are leveraging technology and data to create a more networked system of state regulation that functions more efficiently, with stronger consumer protections,” he said.
Clark noted that in licensing and supervising fintechs, state regulators focus on a firm’s business activities, such as lending or money transmission, and not its technology. Under the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, state regulators are tracking in real-time the migration of the mortgage and MSB industries from a physical to online presence. Additionally, CSBS and state regulators are implementing Vision 2020, a set of initiatives designed to harmonize multistate licensing and supervision of nonbanks. Through broad use of technology and data, Clark said, state regulators can spot trends early and prioritize resources to address risks.