Wilson Creates Dept. of Financial Institutions

Gov. Pete Wilson formally announced the opening of a new state Department of Financial Institutions. The reorganization combines previously separate state licensing and regulation of banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and industrial loan companies into a single agency in the state Department of Corporations. The new agency, created by legislation enacted last year, is headquartered in San Francisco and has branch offices in Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles. “We have removed the unnecessary barriers between various industries and avoided the potential turf battles among regulatory agencies,” Wilson said.