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| Tennessee - Department of Financial Institutions |
The role of financial institutions in business and industry is crucial to the growth of our country's economy and to our own personal well-being.
In Tennessee, banking is big business. Regulated by the Department of Financial Institutions at year-end 2003 were 159 state-chartered banks, 10 Trust Companies, 2 BIDCOs, as well as 129 credit unions. In addition, the department has responsibility for regulating 744 industrial loan and thrift offices, 63 insurance premium finance companies, 1289 mortgage companies, 366 check cashers, 1189 deferred presentment services companies and 42 money transmitters.
The department has legal responsibility for assuring the Tennessee banking system runs on a safe and sound basis. In its supervisory role, the department periodically examines financial soundness of each financial institution it regulates. In addition, consumers' complaints involving Financial Institutions are handled by the department.
The department is the administration's primary source for new bank-related legislation. It also adopts and changes its own administrative regulations to conform to the ever-changing needs of consumers and the industry.
Use the attached link to access current information on the Tennessee department of banking.
http://www.state.tn.us/financialinst/
Contact and Location Information
Mailing address…..
Department of Financial Institutions
511 Union Street, Suite 400
Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Telephone: 1-800-778-4215
Or 615/741-2236
Fax: (615) 253-7794
Complaints
One of the purposes of the Consumer Resources Division is to answer questions, as well as review and attempt to resolve complaints filed against financial institutions chartered and licensed by the state of Tennessee. However, the Department is neither an advocate for the consumer nor the financial institution. The role the Department has is ensuring that the financial institution is aware of the complaint and attempts to resolve the complaint amicably.
If you have a complaint against an institution, you should try to resolve that complaint directly with the institution that falls within the Department’s jurisdiction. If you are uncertain whether an institution is regulated by the Department, the Consumer Resources Division can assist you.
FILING A COMPLAINT
If you are unable to resolve the dispute directly with the institution, you can file a complaint with the Department. In order to ensure proper documentation, the Department asks that you fill out a consumer complaint form. Use the link above to access the department website for access to the complaint form.
Once this form is completed, you can either mail or fax it along with any supporting documentation that you may have. If you attempted to resolve the complaint with directly and you received correspondence from the institution, you can also send that information. Once the form and additional materials are received, the complaint will be assigned to a Consumer Resources Specialist who will review the complaint. If more information is needed, the assigned specialist will contact you.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
The complaint with supporting documentation will be sent to the financial institution or the licensee. The entity will provide a written response to the Department once the complaint is reviewed. The specialist assigned to your complaint will review the response and respond to you in a timely manner. However, additional time may be necessary to review -- and respond appropriately – depending on the complexity of the complaint.
IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL HELP
The Department can only attempt to resolve complaints between state-chartered institutions and licensees. In addition, if the complaint stems from a contractual dispute, the Department can not resolve those disputes. Only a court of law can resolve those disputes. Please note: The Department can not act as your attorney, give legal advice or represent you in a court of law.
NATIONALLY CHARTERED BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS
Institutions that have the words "national," "N.A." (national association), or "federal" in the institution’s name are nationally or federally chartered. The Department of Financial Institutions does not regulate these institutions.
If you wish to file a complaint against a nationally-chartered bank or its operating subsidiary or a nationally-chartered credit union, you have two options: you can file the complaint with the Department and we will forward to the appropriate regulator for their response OR you can file a complaint directly to the nationally-chartered institution’s primary regulator.
For nationally-chartered banks and their subsidiaries, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) is the primary regulator. If you wish to file a complaint to the OCC, you can contact them at:
Office of the Comptroller of Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450
Houston, TX 77010
Phone: 1-800-613-6743
FAX: 713-336-4301
Some institutions that have the word "federal" in their name, may be regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).* If you wish to file a complaint with the OTS, you can contact them at:
Office of Thrift Supervision
1700 G. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20552
800-842-6929
http://www.ots.treas.gov/
* Please note: There are certain instances when a state-chartered bank may have the word "federal" in its name. This occurs when a federal chartered institution converts to a state charter and elects to keep its name.
If you wish to file a complaint against a nationally-chartered credit union, you can file a complaint directly through the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The NCUA can be reached at:
National Credit Union Administration
7000 Central Parkway, Suite 1600
Atlanta, GA 30328
(678) 443-3012
FAX: (678) 443-3020
http://www.ncua.gov
Use the following link to access current information on how to file a complaint.
http://tennessee.gov/financialinst/complaintprocess.html
Regulated Institutions
The Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions regulates the following entities:
- State-chartered banks
- credit unions, trust companies
- business and industrial development corporations
- industrial loan and thrift offices
- insurance premium finance companies
- mortgage companies
- check cashers
- deferred presentment services companies and money transmitters
Rules and Regulations of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions
If you have any questions regarding the rules and regulations of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, please call (615) 741-2236. You may also link to the Department of Financial Institutions website using the link provided above.
Below is a sample list of some of the topics the department is responsible for enforcing rules on.
- Rules of Practice: Applications, Instructions, Forms, Reports of State Banks,
- Schedule of Applications Fees for State Banks, BIDCO's, Savings Bank and Trust Companies
- Single Payment Small Loans
- State-Chartered Credit Unions
- Investments by State-Chartered Credit Unions
- Reserves Required of State Banks
- Operation of State-Chartered Building and Loan Associations
- Electronic Data Processing Servicer Examination and Contingency Planner
- Regulations Pertaining to Other Real Estate
- Acquisitions for Financial Institutions and Holding Companies
- Mortgage Lending, Loan Servicing, and Loan Brokering
- Business and Industrial Development Corporations ("BIDCOS")
- Securities Activities of State-Chartered Banks
- Recovery of the Costs of Examination and Supervision of Certain Financial Institutions
- Assessment of the Annual Banking Fee
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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