OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Banking Board voted unanimously this month to reduce the assessments paid by Oklahoma state-chartered banks.
State Bank Commissioner Mick Thompson said the Banking Department’s current operations should result in
more efficient examinations going forward.
He also described how the department is implementing Gov. Stitt’s initiatives of (1) more telework and (2) reduction of the state’s “footprint” to reduce its costs. These cost savings were passed on to state-chartered banks through a discount of 20% for each bank with assets less than $1 billion and 10% for each bank with assets more than $1 billion.
The assessments are calculated as a percentage of a bank’s assets as of December 31, payable to the Oklahoma State Banking Department on or before February 5 the following year.
The commissioner presented a proposed agency budget to the board reflecting how the department can continue efficient operation with the discount to assessments When combined with previous reductions, Oklahoma state-chartered banks have saved more than $14 million in assessments through discounts approved by the State Banking Board, Thompson said. The reductions included 10% in 2019, 20% in 2018, and 50% in 2017, he said.
The Banking Department has used the assessment discount as an opportunity to reduce regulatory burden on state-chartered banks as well as an endorsement of the Governor’s fiscal responsibility initiatives for state agencies.
The Banking Department receives no tax dollars from the Oklahoma Legislature; the department is financed solely from fees collected from the institutions it regulates. In fact, the department transfers 10% of its revenues into the state’s General Fund for appropriation by the Legislature, Thompson said.
State-chartered businesses regulated by the department include 145 banks, 13 credit unions, eight trust companies, one savings and loan company, 141 money transmitters and 10 money order companies.
Members of the State Banking Board are Sandy Bracken, First Liberty Bank; Dennis Brand, BancFirst; Wade Huckabay, All America Bank; Brad Krieger, Arvest Bank; Bob Newcomb, Bank of Western Oklahoma; Tom Thompson, lay member; and Commissioner Thompson.