WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has announced that the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions has received its fifth certificate of accreditation, certifying that the department maintains the standards and practices in state banking supervision set by the organization's Accreditation Program.

The Department of Financial Institutions was created by the Indiana Financial Institutions Act of 1933. This act commissioned the Department with the responsibility for supervising commercial banks, trust companies, private banks, savings banks, building and loan associations, credit unions, and finance companies incorporated under the laws of the State of Indiana.

Director David H. Mills heads the Department, which is responsible for the supervision of entities which provide financial services and are licensed in the State of Indiana.

First accredited in 1988, the Department is structured in five operating divisions, each under the direct control of a deputy or supervisor. These are the Division of Banks and Trust Companies, Division of Consumer Credit, Division of Credit Unions, Division of Administration and the Legal Division.

It supervises 87 commercial banks, 7 state-chartered savings associations and 47 state-chartered credit unions with total assets of approximately $45 billion, as of March 31, 2010.

In addition, the Department’s regulatory responsibilities also include supervision of pawnbrokers, licensees under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, licensees under the Indiana Small Loan Act, industrial loan and investment companies, money transmitters, check cashers, budget service companies, and rental-purchase agreement companies.

“Director Mills and his staff run a financial regulatory agency that holds its place with the best in the country," said CSBS President and CEO Neil Milner. "This accreditation demonstrates the Department's commitment to achieving and maintaining the highest levels of quality bank supervision, which provides tremendous benefits to Indiana’s citizens and banks."

CSBS accreditation seeks to strengthen state banking departments and to demonstrate the high quality of state banking departments to the general public, the federal banking agencies, Congress, and other state banking departments.

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