Statement by DFS Superintendent Harris at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on FY 2026 Executive Budget - Health
Adrienne A. Harris, Superintendent of Financial Services
New York State Department of Financial Services
Joint Legislative Public Hearing on FY 2026 Executive Budget – Health
New York State Department of Financial Services
Joint Legislative Public Hearing on FY 2026 Executive Budget – Health
Good morning, Chairs Krueger, Pretlow, Bailey, Weprin, Rivera, and Paulin; Ranking Members O’Mara, Ra, Helming, Blankenbush, Gallivan, and Jensen; and all distinguished Members of the New York State Senate and Assembly.
My name is Adrienne A. Harris, and I am the Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Thank you for inviting me to address you at today’s Joint Legislative Budget Hearing. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the Governor’s fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Executive Budget. I also am proud to share all that DFS has accomplished in the past year, thanks to the support of the Governor and the Legislature.
DFS was established in 2011 when the Legislature merged the former Departments of Insurance and Banking. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the goal was to create a more efficient, comprehensive financial regulator to oversee the financial services industry, better protect consumers, and encourage economic growth in the financial capital of the world.
The Department regulates the activities of over 3,000 financial institutions with nearly $10 trillion in assets. This includes over 1,900 insurance companies, including property and casualty insurers, life insurers, health insurers, managed care organizations, and pharmacy benefit managers. DFS also regulates over 1,300 banks and financial institutions, including 120 foreign banks, 15 Global Systemically Important Banks, credit unions, money services businesses, credit reporting agencies, student loan servicers, and more.
DFS is fully funded through assessments on regulated entities and does not receive any General Fund monies, though the work DFS does benefits all New Yorkers. In fiscal year 2024, DFS provided over $514 million to New York State and New Yorkers including through restitution to consumers and health care providers; penalties paid to the state General Fund by regulated entities; and assessment revenue reappropriated to other state programs for insurance-related initiatives, including firefighter training, newborn health screenings, no-cost pediatric vaccinations, and investigations of insurance fraud and building code violations.
Today, DFS is widely considered one of the premier financial regulators in the world, a role we take very seriously. The Department’s mission dictates our responsibility to protect consumers and markets, while also helping to grow a robust and thriving marketplace where companies want to do business.
When I joined the Department more than three years ago, the Department’s role as a preeminent, global regulator in the financial capital of the world was in question. The DFS I joined had little process, transparency, or engagement with stakeholders, including the Legislature. The Department was underfunded, understaffed, and without adequate investment in human capital, technology, or risk management procedures. These deficiencies, combined with a lack of modern, documented, and results-driven processes, created years-long backlogs in applications and filings. The Department lacked strategic planning and frameworks to respond to crises. This left DFS hamstrung in its ability to meet the standards New Yorkers have the right to expect from their government.
Thanks to the support of the Governor and you and your colleagues in the Legislature, we have rebuilt DFS, transforming the Department and the work we do every day. The following figures are a testament to all the Department has done to transform its operations and policy priorities on behalf of New Yorkers.
- Since August 2021, DFS has adopted or amended 54 regulations, issued 98 pieces of regulatory guidance, and closed 117 enforcement actions resulting in more than $418 million in penalties.
- We have addressed more than 157,000 consumer complaints and returned $645 million to New York State consumers and health care providers, including over $228 million just last year.
- And in 2024, we collected more in penalties and restitution, issued more enforcement actions, and addressed more consumer complaints than in each of the two previous years.
I am incredibly proud of the significant work the DFS team has done to make these accomplishments a reality. But the Department is not just focused on churning out new rules or drafting additional guidance for the sake of it. Instead, we look at the current regulations, existing guidance, and industry practices through the lens of today’s financial landscape. In many cases, we have promulgated regulations, made amendments, and clarified guidance that streamlines compliance or modernizes requirements to meet 21st century public policy objectives – including consumer protection – while also reducing compliance burdens. For example, we tailored the requirements in our updated cybersecurity rules to account for the many types and sizes of business we regulate, and we rewrote check-cashing fee rules to reflect consumers’ needs today.
During today’s hearing, I look forward to the opportunity to highlight three areas: (1) our positive impact for New Yorkers; (2) how we have cemented DFS as a preeminent, global regulator; and (3) all we have done to create a more modern, operationally resilient organization.
- Full Statement (PDF)