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

Established in 1851, the New York State Banking Department is the oldest bank regulatory agency in the nation. Superintendent Richard H. Neiman heads the NYSBD, which is responsible for the supervision of entities which provide financial services and are licensed in the State of New York.

First accredited in 1985, the Department is structured in five key supervisory divisions including Foreign and Wholesale Banks, Community and Regional Banks, Mortgage Banking, Licensed Financial Services and Consumer Services. It supervises 100 commercial banks and thrifts with total assets exceeding $500 billion, as of March 31, 2010.

In addition, the NYSBD supervises 12 non-deposit trust companies, 40 holding companies, 136 foreign branches, agencies and representative offices, more than 180 mortgage banks and over 1500 mortgage brokers . In addition, the Department supervises money transmitters, check cashers, budget planners, licensed lenders, sales finance companies, and premium finance agencies.

"Superintendent Neiman 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 New York'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.

CSBS is the national association of state officials responsible for chartering, supervising and regulating the nation's 5,800 state-chartered banks.