A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial institution:
- Depository institution – deposit-taking institution that accepts and manages deposits and makes loans, including bank, building society, credit union, trust company, and mortgage broker;
- Contractual institution – insurance company and pension fund
- Investment institution – investment bank, underwriter, and other different types of financial entities managing investments.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is an American government-backed insurer of credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions, the other being the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures commercial banks and savings institutions. The NCUA is an independent federal agency created by the United States Congress to regulate, charter, and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, the NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 124 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions. Besides the Share Insurance Fund, the NCUA operates three other funds: the NCUA Operating Fund, the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), and the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). The NCUA Operating Fund, with the Share Insurance Fund, finances the agency's operations.
The Community Reinvestment Act is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Congress passed the Act in 1977 to reduce discriminatory credit practices against low-income neighborhoods, a practice known as redlining.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and thrift institutions and the federally licensed branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States. The acting Comptroller of the Currency is Michael J. Hsu, who took office on May 10, 2021.
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act is a United States federal law that requires certain financial institutions to provide mortgage data to the public. Congress enacted HMDA in 1975.
The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), is a United States federal law enacted in the wake of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
Title 12 of the United States Code outlines the role of Banks and Banking in the United States Code.
The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) is the United States organization responsible for setting standards for the real estate valuation profession. The organization sets the congressionally authorized standards and qualifications for real estate appraisers, and provides voluntary guidance on recognized valuation methods and techniques for all valuation professionals. The aim is to ensure appraisals are impartial, objective and independent, are conducted without bias and are performed in an ethical and competent manner.
The CAMELS rating is a supervisory rating system originally developed in the U.S. to classify a bank's overall condition. It is applied to every bank and credit union in the U.S. and is also implemented outside the U.S. by various banking supervisory regulators.
Bank regulation in the United States is highly fragmented compared with other G10 countries, where most countries have only one bank regulator. In the U.S., banking is regulated at both the federal and state level. Depending on the type of charter a banking organization has and on its organizational structure, it may be subject to numerous federal and state banking regulations. Apart from the bank regulatory agencies the U.S. maintains separate securities, commodities, and insurance regulatory agencies at the federal and state level, unlike Japan and the United Kingdom. Bank examiners are generally employed to supervise banks and to ensure compliance with regulations.
The New York State Banking Department was created by the New York Legislature on April 15, 1851, with a chief officer to be known as the Superintendent. The New York State Banking Department was the oldest bank regulatory agency in the United States.
The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico—in Spanish: Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF)—is an office of the Department of Treasury of Puerto Rico that supervises and regulates Puerto Rico's financial sector to ensure its safety and soundness, as well as to oversee a strict adherence to all applicable laws and regulations. The OCIF as a regulatory body is similar in function to the State Banking Departments found in the 50 states. However, Puerto Rico being a commonwealth territory, its functions and legal enforcement are more broad as it is empowered to issue banking licenses under Puerto Rico law which are not under direct federal supervision, such as International Banking Entities and International Finance Entities. The OCIF follows examination guidance issued by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), a formal interagency body empowered to prescribe uniform principles for the examination of financial institutions in the U.S., including institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Ángel Luis Rosas Collazo served as its first commissioner.
A bank examiner is a financial professional who has the task of making sure that banks and savings and loan associations are operating legally and safely, in accordance with the bank regulations imposed on these institutions by the chartering level of government. In the United States, they may conduct supervision on behalf of a U.S. government agency, the Federal Reserve System, a state banking authority, or for the financial institutions themselves as internal auditors. The main duties of a bank examiner are to ensure that a bank's operations are legal and can provide financial stability. A bank examiner will also review financial statements, evaluate the level of risk associated with loans, and assess the management of a bank.
Thomas James Curry is an American government official who served as the 30th Comptroller of the Currency of the United States from April 9, 2012, until May 5, 2017. Prior to becoming Comptroller of the Currency, Curry served as a Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and as the chairman of the NeighborWorks America Board of Directors. He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut and raised in Stamford, Connecticut.
In banking, the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL), formerly known as the reserve for bad debts, is a calculated reserve that financial institutions establish in relation to the estimated credit risk within the institution's assets. This credit risk represents the charge-offs that will most likely be realized against an institution's operating income as of the financial statement end date. This reserve reduces the book value of the institution's loans and leases to the amount that the institution reasonably expects to collect.
Deborah "Debbie" Matz is an American civil servant who served as the 8th Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration.
Joseph M. Otting is an American businessman and government official. He served as the 31st Comptroller of the Currency from November 27, 2017 to May 29, 2020.
Keith A. Noreika is an American lawyer who specializes in the regulation of financial institutions. He served as Acting Comptroller of the Currency from May 5, 2017, to November 27, 2017, following the 30th Comptroller of the Currency, Thomas J. Curry, and preceding the 31st Comptroller of the Currency, Joseph Otting. Noreika rejoined the law firm of Simpson Thacher on January 8, 2018. He joined Patomak Global Partners as Executive Vice President and Chairman of its Banking Supervision and Regulation Group on July 5, 2022.
Brian P. Brooks is an American lawyer, banker, entrepreneur, technologist, and former government official. He served as Acting Comptroller of the Currency from May 29, 2020, succeeding the 31st Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting, until January 14, 2021. Brooks was nominated twice by President Donald Trump for a five-year term as Comptroller of the Currency, once during the 116th Congress, and once in the 117th Congress.
The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was created as a response to the financial crisis in 2007. Passed in 2010, the act contains a great number of provisions, taking over 848 pages. It targets the sectors of the financial system that were believed to be responsible for the financial crisis, including banks, mortgage lenders, and credit rating agencies. Ostensibly aimed at reducing the instability that led to the crash, the act has the power to force these institutions to reduce their risk and increase their reserve capital.
