Financial Institutions Bureau

Regulatory Relationships and Examinations – The Financial Institutions Bureau (Bureau) enjoys an excellent working relationship with federal and other state regulators to provide regulated institutions with effective supervision with minimal disruption and costs, and efficient use of supervisory/regulatory resources. Our primary tool in this endeavor is close coordination of examinations. Teams for bank, credit union, commercial, trust, and information technology examinations frequently include both state and federal examiners. We continue to provide and support a “single point of contact” for state-chartered institutions operating on a multi-state basis.

Bureau personnel meet regularly with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to discuss regulatory issues of mutual concern and coordinate examinations.  Additionally, the Bureau continues its joint compliance examination program entered into with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2020. Idaho is one of the few states that have a formal agreement with the FDIC on conducting joint compliance examinations. The joint compliance examinations, in addition to joint risk management examinations, result in more efficient and less burdensome bank examinations. The Department also enjoys an excellent relationship with American Share Insurance, a private share insurance company based in Dublin, Ohio, that insures the deposits of several Idaho credit unions.

The Department is an active participant in the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) and Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), which actively coordinate with all state credit union and state bank regulatory agencies on a variety of issues that affect industry.

National Accreditation – NASCUS and CSBS have established accreditation standards for credit union and bank supervision and regulation. The accreditation process requires a comprehensive review of all factors needed to have a fully functional regulatory organization, including a full-scale re-accreditation every five years and updated information annually. The review includes an extensive self-analysis of our operations followed by an on-site audit by a team of subject experts. The Credit Union Section and Bank Section have been continuously accredited by NASCUS and CSBS since 1990.

Education and Examiner Training – Continuing education and training are important to maintaining accreditation and the confidence of those we regulate. Department personnel attend many NCUA-sponsored and FDIC-sponsored schools that offer training on a wide range of supervision and examination topics.  The Department continues to support educational opportunities for its examiners. In addition to on-site training sessions, examiners complete online training and participate in webinars on emerging issues.