New York Department of Financial Services News

New York DFS Requires Ocwen Reforms, $150M Homeowner Help

New York financial regulators have reached a settlement with Ocwen Financial Corp. requiring the nation’s largest subprime mortgage servicer to reform its practices and provide $150 million to help struggling New York homeowners. The consent order requires William Erbey to …

New York DFS Announces New Cybersecurity Assessment Process for Banks

New York’s Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky today issued an industry guidance letter to all New York Department of Financial Services (DFS)-regulated banks announcing the department’s new, targeted cybersecurity preparedness assessments. Lawsky said that in an effort to promote greater …

New York DFS Superintendent Lawsky Leaving After $3B in Fines Makes Mark

When Ocwen Financial Corp. shares soared on the news that regulator Benjamin Lawsky, who’s probing the company, will step down, Bill Miller shrugged. The next head of New York’s Department of Financial Services will probably be as aggressive as Lawsky, …

New York DFS Superintendent Lawsky Considering 2015 Exit Plan

New York’s top banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky, who used his leverage to stiffen penalties against some of the world’s largest financial institutions, will probably step down next year to take a job in the private sector, said a person familiar …

New York’s Lawsky Says Punishing Individuals Is Essential to Deterrence

Punishing executives for misconduct at banks is essential to deter wrongdoing on Wall Street, New York’s banking regulator said. “Just damning the entire firm is often times counterproductive,” Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, said …

Lawsky: Regulators’ Stance on Life Insurers’ Captives Leaves Gaping Problem

New York’s financial-services regulator told fellow watchdogs they are failing to address a “gaping regulatory problem” that he said allows life insurers to artificially inflate reserves. There should be tighter rules governing captives, the subsidiaries that some insurers use to …

New York Investigates Mortgage Firm Ocwen’s Insurance Deal

New York’s banking regulator asked Ocwen Financial Corp. for information about an insurance agreement that it says may be designed to funnel fees to an affiliate for minimal work. Benjamin Lawsky, the superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, is …

Apollo’s Life Insurance Unit Athene Holding Said to Be Examined for Caesars Link

Apollo Global Management LLC’s dual stakes in an insurer and the largest operator of U.S. casinos are drawing scrutiny by New York’s top financial regulator, who doesn’t want policyholders exposed to the gambling firm’s debt, a person briefed on the …

New York DFS Issues Bulletin Urging Auto Insurers to Adopt Telematics Programs

New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a bulletin to all New York auto insurers encouraging them to adopt “usage-based insurance” (UBI) programs. Under these voluntary programs, consumers can install “telematics” devices in their cars that – with the …

N.Y. Calls for More Oversight for Investment Firms’ Acquisitions of Insurers

The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has proposed new regulations to oversee private equity and investment firms’ acquisitions of insurance companies, especially acquisitions of annuity companies, in the state. DFS said the proposal to enshrine enhanced policyholder protection …