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| Arizona State Banking Department |
Use the attached like to access the official website of the Arizona state banking department.
http://www.azbanking.com/index.html.
Agency Mission
“To regulate and supervise the financial institutions and enterprises of Arizona according to the statutes in ways that will not unreasonably impede economic growth or business activity”.
Purpose
The Arizona state banking department regulates financial service companies that must receive a charter, license or registration (depending on the type of financial services it offers) from the Department. Once a regulated company is in business, it is subject to periodic examination by the department. In the event a company is failing in a way that threatens to damage consumers, the Department, as ordered by an appropriate court of jurisdiction, may place the business into receivership, which allows the Department to distribute assets to creditors and customers.
Agency Description
The State Banking Department is statutorily charged with the licensing, supervision and regulation of state chartered financial institutions and enterprises. The responsibility is twofold: ensuring the safety and soundness of state chartered financial entities, as well as compliance with applicable state and federal laws. The Department also reviews complaints that are filed by consumers against licensed entities where violations of state law or rules have been alleged, directing appropriate remedial action if the violations are substantiated. The Department serves approximately 3,000 entities licensed to conduct business in the state, as well as Arizona citizens who receive services from these companies.
Supervision for the most part refers to examinations. However, it also involves responding to any questions licensees may have and keeping them informed of regulatory changes the Department is planning. Most industries are subject to examination only of their compliance with statutes. Banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations and trust companies are examined to determine their safety and soundness. Rankings are on a scale of one to five, with one being the top score. Banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations are examined according to the CAMELS system. This takes into account six areas: capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk.
Location and Contact Information
Telephone: (602) 255-4421
FAX: (602) 381-1225
Postal Address: 2910 N. 44th Street, Suite 310
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Electronic Mail:
Licensing: licensing@azbanking.com
Consumer Affairs: consumeraffairs@azbanking.com
General Information: mailbox@azbanking.com
Banking - Directories
Banking departments generally have directories or listings of the financial institutions they supervise. The following is a list of these financial institutions.
- Advance Fee Loan Brokers
- Banks (State Chartered)
- Collection Agencies
- Commercial Mortgage Bankers
- Consumer Lenders
- Credit Unions (State Chartered)
- Debt Management Companies
- Deferred Presentment Companies
- Escrow Agents
- Money Transmitters
- Mortgage Bankers
- Mortgage Brokers
- Motor Vehicle Dealers
- Premium Finance Companies
- Pre-need Funeral Trust Companies
- Sales Finance Companies
- Savings and Loan Associations
- Trust Companies
- Trust Divisions (of State Chartered Institutions)
Relationship to Federal Regulators
Banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations may choose either a national or state charter. If they go national, the state is not involved. If they select a state charter, the Banking Department is responsible for their supervision, and federal regulators are involved because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides deposit insurance. Indeed, Arizona law (A.R.S. §6-184, 4) requires all state-chartered banks to be members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
If banks choose to become members of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), they must purchase shares. Fed membership gives banks access to overnight lending and allows them to offer their customers additional services. Once a bank is a Fed member, the FDIC generally will accept examinations prepared by Federal Reserve examiners in place of its own.
Rules, Regulations and Policies
The following link will take you to the states banking rules and regulations and policies that are in effect and that the state banking department is responsible for enforcing.
http://www.azbanking.com/Rules.htm.
Banking Laws
There are many laws banks have to uphold. The following link will take you to the Arizona state laws.
http://www.azbanking.com/Statutes.htm.
Complaints
The Consumer Affairs Division also is responsible for reviewing complaints against those entities licensed by the agency. You will need to submit a complaint form which can be found using the following link.
http://www.azbanking.com/CAD/Complaint_Form.htm.
If you have a complaint, please read the following information before filing in order to ensure the best outcome for your situation.
First, please check to make sure that your complaint is for an entity which they regulate. Particularly for Banks, Credit Unions, Savings Banks, and Credit Card companies. For Banks and Credit Unions, an entity can be either federally or state chartered. If they are federally chartered, they are considered a national bank or credit union. Some examples of nationally chartered institutions that they do not regulate:
- Wells Fargo Bank Bank One N.A.
- Bank of America Washington Mutual
- Desert Schools Federal Credit Union Arizona Federal Credit Union
Savings banks are all regulated at the national level. Likewise, entities which issue or process credit cards are governed by national agencies and not the Arizona State Banking Department.
If you have a complaint for an entity they regulate, you should first try to resolve it directly by contacting an officer of the entity. If for some reason you are unable to resolve the problem in this way, you may wish to contact senior management or the entity's consumer affairs representative for further assistance. Dealing directly with the institution is usually the fastest, simplest, and most effective approach. Most companies value their customers and in most situations will be responsive to your concerns.
If you are unable to resolve your complaint directly, you may file a complaint with the agency, which is responsible for ensuring that the entities they regulate comply with applicable state laws.
Identity Theft
When it comes to identity theft, the old adage applies, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The following are useful tips and information for consumers to avoid identity theft:
- Be careful about giving out your personal information. Don’t give out any personal information over the phone unless you initiate the call;
- Pay attention to your billing cycles. If you don’t get your bills in the mail, be suspicious;
- Be cautious about where you leave your information. Think of your bills as cash, don’t leave them lying around;
- Guard your mail from theft. Be vigilant about checking your mail promptly after it has been delivered. Don’t let it pile up while you are away;
- Watch what you throw away. What may be garbage to you can be stolen treasure to an identity thief;
- Travel light. Don’t carry more checks or credit cards than you need. That will minimize the damage if your wallet is lost or stolen; and
- Check your credit report on a regular basis. Order a copy of your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies at least once a year and make sure that the information they have is correct.
- The agencies are:
- Experian 1-800-397-3742
- Equifax 1-800-525-6285
- Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
If a consumer is a victim of Identity theft, he/she should:
- Contact creditors by phone and by certified mail;
- Stop payment on checks and close bank accounts;
- Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles and your local postal inspector;
- File a report with your local police department; and
- Call the FTC’s fraud hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT.
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