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 Department was the primary regulator for state-licensed and state-chartered financial entities, including domestic banks, foreign agencies, branches and representative offices, savings institutions and trust companies, credit unions and other financial institutions operating in New York including mortgage bankers and brokers, check cashers, money transmitters, and licensed lenders, among others. Total assets of the institutions regulated were nearly $2.2 trillion.
Effective October 3, 2011, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature consolidated the New York State Banking Department and the New York State Insurance Department and created the New York State Department of Financial Services.
The Department's legislative mandate was to insure the safe and sound conduct of these businesses, to conserve assets, to prevent unsound and destructive competition, to maintain public confidence in the banking system, and to protect the public interest and the interests of depositors, creditors and shareholders.
The New York State Banking Department was headquartered at One State Street in New York City and had an office in the state capital at the Empire State Plaza, Albany, and an office in Syracuse, New York to serve the most Northern and Western parts of the State.
Revenues to fund the Department's operating budget were derived from fees paid to it by state-chartered institutions. The Department was included in the New York State Executive Budget, and all expenses were paid by the New York State Comptroller out of State funds, reimbursed by the amounts assessed against the institutions subject to supervision. Expenses of examination and operation were paid entirely by the institutions subject to regulation.