Grygo is the chief content officer for FTF & FTF News.
Linda A. Lacewell recently announced that she will be stepping down on August 24 from her position as superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) after two-and-a-half years at the helm.
Her departure coincides with the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is leaving because of a scandal involving sexual harassment allegations that were investigated and reported upon by the New York Attorney General’s office. Multiple media reports have noted that Lacewell was part of soon-to-be-former Gov. Cuomo’s inner circle. Cuomo, who also steps down August 24, will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. The new governor will finish out his term but will likely have her own team members in key posts.
FTF News reached out to the NYDFS public affairs group and representatives there sidestepped my questions about Lacewell’s next position and her response to stories about her ties to Gov. Cuomo.
As for a question about what she thinks is her biggest achievement during her tenure, the representative said: “Please refer to her statement in terms of the accomplishments.”
In particular, FTF News covered many of the initiatives pertinent to our readers:
- Recently, for the Minding the Gap blog, I posted a piece about steps to take to avoid ransomware based upon a NYSDFS guidance: https://bit.ly/37BUWel
- I also posted about the department requiring firms to provide data about the diversity of their corporate boards and managers: https://bit.ly/3AmBxuv;
- We ran a news story about a fintech contest, Techsprint, to develop, formalize and accelerate the process of regulatory reporting for registered crypto-currency companies https://bit.ly/3iSdJHe ;
- And we ran a cyber-alert about Microsoft Exchange as the lead item in our fintech roundup: https://bit.ly/3vxEs1R
In her resignation letter to staff members, Lacewell noted other initiatives such as the climate change push (which we also reported upon: https://bit.ly/2Iwt7LI).
“We are the first financial regulator — state or federal — to address the financial risks of climate change, which imperils our planet and affects the safety and soundness of industry,” Lacewell says. “For insurance, we have already issued proposed guidance to be finalized this year and we are on track to do the same for banking this year as well. We are the first to give banks CRA [Community Reinvestment Act] credit for climate resiliency investments in communities. We have also begun to engage the public pension funds we regulate about addressing these risks.”
NYSDFS officials also took on the vagaries of cryptocurrencies and crypto-based activities. “We modernized our approach to virtual currency business licensing and coin issuance, and we welcomed numerous new entrants, including global financial institutions,” Lacewell says.
“We acted early to address ransomware attacks and cyber insurance, issuing guidance and best practices, and continuing DFS’ cyber leadership,” Lacewell says. “We brought our first enforcement action and settlements to enforce our nation-leading cybersecurity regulations. Cybersecurity is the biggest threat to industry and government bar none, and a cyberattack could be the trigger for the next financial crisis.”
Linda Lacewell
As far as enforcement, the department “collected over a billion dollars in bank enforcement penalties,” Lacewell says. She adds the department will be “collecting and will publish data on diversity and inclusion from our regulated entities. We formed a Committee for the Advancement of Women in Leadership in Financial Services. We created the first Statewide Office for Financial Inclusion and Empowerment.”
While the Cuomo scandal continues to have many ripple effects, it’s important to note that the NYSDFS was busy over the past two years. I suspect that the momentum that Lacewell launched will continue because she acknowledged the industry dynamics that were well underway. In addition, Hochul is not likely to implement an about-face of Cuomo’s philosophies.
Lacewell’s letter, dated August 13, can be found here: https://on.ny.gov/3ASYdmh
Need a Reprint?