News
2/8/2022 – Secretary's Letter on Remote Mortgage Legislation
On behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, I am pleased to announce the passage of HB 1588, now Act 8 of 2022 into law. Act 8 authorizes remote mortgage loan origination, in addition to other updates to the Pennsylvania Mortgage Licensing Act.
1/26/2021 - Secretary's Letter on Establishing a Self-Service Web Portal
The Department is in the process of establishing a self-service web portal to provide for a more efficient, cost-effective, and secure digital process for the professionals, institutions, and businesses regulated by the agency.
1/10/2019 – Secretary's Letter on Government Shutdown
Given the reality of delayed receipt of paychecks and income by federal workers who live and work in Pennsylvania, the Department asks banks, credit unions, and financial services companies to extend their support to affected federal employees.
Cybersecurity continues to be a top priority of the department, as it should be for every financial services institution and business. The department continues to develop and share resources available to companies and organizations to assist them in developing strong practices to address cybersecurity threats.
10/06/2017- Secretary's Letter on Fintech Licensure
The Department reiterates its long-standing position that all persons offering financial services to the consumers of the Commonwealth of Pennyslvania must comply with all legal requirements associated with the offering of those services.
10/27/2016- Secretary's Letter on CybersecurityThe Department continues to work collaboratively with federal regulators, other states financial regulators, and other Commonwealth agencies to address cybersecurity challenges.
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities fosters a strong economy for Pennsylvania by ensuring the safety and soundness of financial institutions, encouraging capital formation, regulating financial services providers, and protecting consumers and investors.
Here are some of the ways the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities balances its dedication to financial institution safety and soundness with our concern for Pennsylvania’s families:
- We regulate more than 160 state-chartered banks, trusts and credit unions to ensure that Pennsylvanians’ deposits are safe and available when they need them.
- We license and register more than 37,000 non-bank lenders, including mortgage brokers, originators and lenders; auto sales finance companies; debt management and deb settlement companies; check cashers; pawnbrokers; and money transmitters. We also enforce compliance with state and federal laws for non-bank lenders so that consumer and business borrowers will have confidence in their transactions.
- We register more than 260,000 broker-dealers, investments agents, investment advisers and investment adviser representatives who conduct securities-related business in Pennsylvania, and review more than 5,000 securities offerings made to Pennsylvanians each year.
We dedicate staff to ensure that Pennsylvania’s financial services institutions are partners in the commonwealth’s efforts to assist in the economic recovery.
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities is accredited by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators and the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, and is a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association, the National Association of Consumer Credit Administrators and the Money Transmitter Regulators Association.
Our work is funded entirely by the assessments and fees paid by Pennsylvania’s regulated financial community. No taxpayer dollars are used to support our work.