Department of Financial Services

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) was established in 2011 when the Legislature merged the former Departments of Insurance and Banking. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the goal was to create a more efficient, comprehensive financial regulator to oversee the financial services industry, better protect consumers, and encourage economic growth in the financial capital of the world. Today, DFS is considered one of the premier financial regulators in the world.

The Department regulates the activities of over 3,000 financial institutions with nearly $10 trillion in assets. This includes over 1,900 insurance companies with assets of more than $6.4 trillion, including property and casualty insurance companies, life insurance companies, health insurers and managed care organizations, and pharmacy benefit managers. DFS also regulates more than 1,300 banks and financial institutions with assets totaling more than $3.3 trillion, including 120 foreign banks and 15 Global Systemically Important Banks, credit unions, money services businesses, credit reporting agencies, and student loan servicers.

The Department was the first U.S. regulator to start licensing virtual currency companies and has since developed a world-leading virtual currency regulatory framework. To support the Department’s role as the prudential regulator of virtual currency, Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris has built one of the largest virtual currency regulatory teams in the world. DFS was also the first to institute comprehensive cybersecurity regulations for financial services companies and led the nation in establishing a standalone Climate Division.

The Department – which has 1,359 staff and a budget of $344,750,000 – not only plays an important role in the financial sector of New York State’s economy, it also leads the nation in developing policy that fosters fair and modern financial regulation.

Updated December 2024