The Department of Financial Services supervises and regulates the activities of more than 3,000 financial institutions with assets totaling more than $9.7 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

The types of institutions regulated by the Department include:

More than 1,900 insurance companies with assets of more than $6.4 trillion, including:

• 1,173 property/casualty insurance companies
• 128 life insurance companies
• 92 health insurers and managed care organizations
• 64 Pharmacy Benefits Managers

More than 1,300 banking and other financial institutions with assets totaling more than $3.3 trillion, including:

• 66 state-chartered banks
• 71 foreign branches, 10 foreign agencies
• 22 virtual currency companies
• 12 credit unions

DFS also registers, approves, permits, authorizes and de-authorizes certain other entities.

Learn more about the Institutions We Supervise and use our "Who We Supervise" search tool to find out whether a person or financial institution is regulated and/or licensed by DFS, and what additional locations or branches they may have.

Superintendent

Adrienne A. Harris was nominated to lead the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) by Governor Kathy Hochul in August, 2021 and confirmed by the New York State Senate on January 25, 2022.

Superintendent Harris began her career as an Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York City representing a number of U.S. and non-U.S. based corporations in various forms of litigation and regulatory matters, before accepting a position at the United States Department of the Treasury under President Obama.

While at the Treasury Department, Superintendent Harris served as a Senior Advisor to both Acting Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Mary Miller, and Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin. Her work ranged from financial reform efforts to identifying solutions to the student loan crisis, analyzing the nexus between foreign investment and national security, and working to promote financial inclusion and health in communities throughout the country.

Following her time at the Treasury Department, Superintendent Harris joined The White House, where she was appointed as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, as part of the National Economic Council. In this role, she managed the financial services portfolio, which included developing and executing strategies for financial reform and the implementation of Dodd-Frank, consumer protections for the American public, cybersecurity and housing finance reform priorities.

After leaving the White House in January 2017, Superintendent Harris went on to serve as General Counsel and Chief Business Officer at States Title, Inc. (now DOMA), which provides a more simple and affordable closing experience for homebuyers.

Prior to being nominated, she also served as a Professor and as Faculty Co-Director at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy's Center on Finance, Law and Policy at the University of Michigan, as well as a Senior Advisor at the Brunswick Group in Washington, D.C.

• Download a high-resolution photo of Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris (.JPG, 7.1 MB)

The New York State Department of Financial Services seeks to build an equitable, transparent, and resilient financial system that benefits individuals and supports business. Through engagement, data-driven regulation and policy, and operational excellence, the Department and its employees are responsible for empowering consumers and protecting them from financial harm; ensuring the health of the entities we regulate; driving economic growth in New York through responsible innovation; and preserving the stability of the global financial system.

Policy

DFS values: Equitable – Innovative – Collaborative – Transparent

These values will help guide DFS as it carries out its critical work in financial services: 

Equitable: In addition to protecting the safety and soundness of the financial system, DFS must also focus on the kitchen table issues that have a direct impact on our day-to-day lives, with fairness and equity top of mind.

Innovative: DFS must be innovative in its approach to supervising the industry, harnessing data and technology to drive more efficient, effective policymaking.

Collaborative:  DFS, as a preeminent global financial regulator, must work hand-in-hand with other state, federal and international regulators, as well as with advocates, industry and other stakeholders.

Transparent: DFS must be transparent in order to receive trust from the people to carry out the mission.

On October 3, 2011 the New York State Banking Department and the New York State Insurance Department were abolished and the functions and authority of both former agencies transferred to the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The legislation that created the Department of Financial Services is known as the Financial Services Law.

The purpose of consolidating these two agencies and creating the Department of Financial Services or DFS is to modernize regulation by allowing the agency to oversee a broader array of financial products and services, rather than the previous system of limiting regulation to services provided by only certain types of institutions.

The New York State Banking Department

In 1791, the New York State legislature authorized a charter for the first state bank, the Bank of New York.

A law in 1829 set up a Bank Fund later renamed the Safety Fund, to guarantee the payment of debts of insolvent state banks. All State-chartered banks were required to make an annual contribution to this fund, which was managed by the State treasurer. That same law provided for the appointment of three bank commissioners to examine the financial status of these banks and to report annually to the legislature.

The Banking Law of 1838 required banks to file certificates of incorporation with the Secretary of State and to report annually to the State Comptroller.

In 1843, the Comptroller was authorized to examine a bank only when there was reason to suspect an incorrect report had been submitted or was in an unsafe and unsound condition to continue business.

The Banking Department was created by the New York state legislature on April 15, 1851. Until it was abolished in 2011, the New York State Banking Department was the oldest bank regulatory agency in the nation.

• Archive of Annual Reports of the Banking Department

The New York State Insurance Department

Until 1849, insurance companies doing business in New York State were chartered by special acts of the Legislature. A law was passed that year requiring prospective insurance companies to file incorporation papers with the Secretary of State. The law also vested regulatory power over insurance companies with the State Comptroller, who was authorized to require the companies to submit annual financial statements and to deny a company the right to operate if capital securities and investments did not remain secure.

The Insurance Department was created in 1859 by the New York State Legislature and assumed the functions of the Comptroller and Secretary of State relating to insurance. The Department began operations in 1860.

• Archive of Annual Reports of the Insurance Department

• Advisory Boards

• Read all DFS press releases

For more information on how to contact the Department of Financial Services, please visit our Contact Us page.