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Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation Receives Accreditation of Mortgage Supervision Program

Washington, D.C. — The Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (the Office or OCFR), The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) announced today that the OCFR has received CSBS/AARMR Mortgage Accreditation. This accreditation certifies that the Office maintains the highest standards in mortgage supervision. Gordon Cooley has been serving the State of Maryland as the Commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation for two years.

“Today’s news highlights and reaffirms the professional, comprehensive and thoughtful work performed by the Commissioner and his team to best serve the residents of Maryland,” said Kelly M. Schulz, Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor.

“Accreditation enables the Commissioner to place greater emphasis on those licensees who pose a greatest risk to Marylanders. It allows the Commissioner to continue changing Maryland for the better by conducting more efficient, effective, and comprehensive licensee examinations, while reducing the costs associated with regulatory oversight on those businesses providing mortgage related services to Marylanders.”

“Congratulations to Commissioner Cooley and his staff for achieving mortgage reaccreditation,” said CSBS President and CEO John W. Ryan. “This reaccreditation shows that the Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation maintains the highest level of standards and practices in state mortgage supervision.”

“The Mortgage Accreditation program strengthens and promotes excellence in state mortgage supervision while increasing supervisory efficiency,” said Tony Florence, President of AARMR and Director of Mortgage Examinations at the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending. “Earning mortgage supervision accreditation demonstrates Maryland’s dedication to such excellence.”

To achieve mortgage supervision accreditation, state agencies must undergo a voluntary comprehensive review of the CSBS and AARMR accreditation team. The accreditation process begins with the completion of an extensive self-evaluation questionnaire on all department operations, including administration and finance, personnel, training, examination, supervision, and legislative powers. An external review team comprised of veteran state regulators then performs an on-site review and presents its findings to an audit team and to the Performance Standards Committee. The members then vote on the reports of the review team and the audit team.

Media Contacts:

Maureen O’Connor, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Director of Communications and Media Relations 410.230.6241

Matthew Longacre, CSBS, Manager of Communications, 202.803.8091

About the Maryland Department of Labor

About the Maryland Department of Labor
The Maryland Department of Labor is committed to safeguarding and protecting Marylanders. We're proud to support the economic stability of the state by providing businesses, the workforce, and the consuming public with high-quality, customer-focused regulatory, employment, and training services. For updates and information, follow the Maryland Department of Labor on Twitter (@MD_Labor), Facebook and visit our website.

About CSBS

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization of banking regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more than a century, CSBS has given state supervisors a national forum to coordinate supervision of their regulated entities and to develop regulatory policy. CSBS also provides training to state banking and financial regulators and represents its members before Congress and the federal financial regulatory agencies.