12 JULY / AUGUST 2017 COVER STORY 8SQ *MXI OIITW JEQMP] TLSXSW ERH HVE[MRKW SR HMWTPE] MR LMW SJƤGI MR HS[RXS[R -RHMERETSPMW happen Monday through Friday. Our bank examination staff generally travel between 60 and 100 nights a year, so that’s 60 to 100 nights a year deducted from home life. “Our examiners believe in the mission of regulation in Indiana banking, but it often means missing that first step of the first child, or missing that ultrasound to hear the heartbeat. There’s a huge sacrifice being made. “The second thing I’d like for bankers to know about the DFI is the scope of what we do. Bankers would find it interesting to see how much of what we do doesn’t relate to their world. Bank examination is just a little piece of what we do here. “On top of the expansiveness of bank regulation, add in all the layers of all the other businesses we regulate. They all have their own sets of laws, and their own associations and contacts. “Finally, I think bankers would be surprised to know how much we’re involved outside of Indiana. For example we participate in regional meetings, primarily in Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta. “We also go to several meetings in Washington, DC, where we interact with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, and with senior management from the FDIC, the Fed, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration. “My duties include serving as state liaison with the FFIEC2 Task Force on Supervision. Meetings deal with various topics, including risk management, exam procedures, the supervisory process, regulatory updates, etc. And I’m part of a Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group that meets with FinCen at the Treasury building semiannually. “Last year I got on an airplane somewhere around 20 times, mostly to Washington, DC, so my old travel burdens as a bank examiner have been exchanged for this more distant travel now. But I’m grateful that the state lets me do it, because each trip is an opportunity to share perspective about Indiana and to learn what’s happening in Washington DC, as well as in other states.” How does the DFI mission, which states the manners in which DFI regulates and supervises financial services providers, influence your work? “Nobody walks around here reciting our DFI mission, but we know what our mission is, and we know what our jobs are. We all grew up inside the culture and have become that culture. “As a regulatory agency, we are a service industry, and there are two primary customers of our services. The first is consumers. It is our job to ensure depositors that doing business with a regulated, state-chartered financial institution is safe and sound. “Also on the consumer side, we recognize that most people don’t read all 14 pages of disclosures, but we do. We make sure there is nothing unusual in the disclosures, and that consumers will not be taken advantage of. “We have legal experts ensuring that rates are being disclosed, that fee structures are according to law, and that products and services are appropriate. Consumer protection is our primary service. “From that emerges a secondary customer, because if the organizations we regulate do their jobs well, the state and its citizens benefit. In that sense, the very entities we regulate become customers. “For benefit of bankers, this means we educate our staff well, so that the findings of our examinations are valid. For licensees and registrants, this means we process applications quickly and accurately, doing all of the necessary background work to make sure each applicant meets the statutory requirements. “Treating our chartered entities, licensees and registrants as customers is the front end of ensuring good customer service to the consumer. “When Gov. Holcomb came into office, he announced five pillars of his agenda. Three of the pillars – addressing roads and bridges,
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