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Examinations and Exam Reports

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Examinations and Exam Reports

Insurance Company Examinations

The Department is required by law to conduct examinations into the affairs of domestic insurers and HMOs. In addition, we also have the authority to conduct an examination into the affairs of any insurance corporation, or other insurer doing or authorized to do any insurance business in New York state. There are generally two types of examinations: financial and market conduct. Examinations that cover both financial and market conduct are referred to as "combined."

The purpose of a financial examination is to verify that an examined entity's financial statement, as of the examination date, as well as its corporate conduct during the examination period, are in compliance with Department laws, rules, and regulations.

A market conduct examination is focused on the fair treatment of policyholders and the scope of these examinations is on areas such as company operations, complaint handling, marketing, claims, rate and form filing and policyholder service.


Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Examinations

Ratings for banking institutions subject to New York State CRA are public. To access a summary of an institution's CRA performance evaluation, simply click on the rating for that institution on the following page:

About CRA

The Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, is both a state and federal law that encourages banks to meet the credit needs of all communities, including low and moderate-income areas. New York State is one of only a small number of states with its own CRA. New York CRA largely mirrors the federal CRA. The New York State CRA was adopted in 1978, one year after the 1977 federal CRA law, largely in response to concerns about the existence of redlining of poor and minority communities by banking institutions during the 1960s and 1970s.

CRA Exam Schedules

Banking institutions subject to the New York State Community Reinvestment Act are generally assessed once every 24 to 36 months. Institutions with total assets below $250 million and rated "Satisfactory" or "Outstanding" in their most recent CRA examination performed by the Department generally will be examined once every 48 or 60 months, respectively. 

Comments

DFS encourages public comment on the performance of banks scheduled for New York State CRA evaluations. You may submit written comments concerning local credit needs and/or the performance of specific banks prior to, or during the examination. You should submit comments early enough to ensure a thorough review.

Direct all comments or questions via email to [email protected] or by mail to:

Samantha Darche - Deputy Superintendent, Consumer Examinations Unit
Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Division
New York State Department of Financial Services
1 State Street, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10004-1511