Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), on Monday was elected to the Board of Directors of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the nationwide organization of banking regulators.

Superintendent Lawsky was elected to serve for the 2012-13 term during the CSBS State-Federal Supervisory Forum in Savannah, Georgia. The Superintendent’s election will give him an opportunity to participate in setting national policies for state banking regulation as a member of the board.

CSBS gives state regulators a national forum to coordinate supervision of their regulated entities and to develop regulatory policy. CSBS also provides training to state banking and financial regulators and represents its members before Congress and the federal financial regulatory agencies.

Banking regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are represented by CSBS. They also regulate a variety of non-bank financial services, such as mortgage servicers and lenders.

As the head of DFS, Superintendent Lawsky supervises New York State-chartered depository institutions and the majority of United States-based branches and agencies of foreign banking institutions.

He also regulates all of New York State’s mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers, check cashers, money transmitters, budget planners, and similar providers of financial services. Entities supervised by the Department number approximately 4400, with assets of about $6.2 trillion.