The Department of Commerce regulates state-chartered banks by:
Supervising and examining state banks to determine their financial standing and responsiveness to business and consumer credit needs.
Writing rules and recommending laws to be enacted under which financial institutions and consumer credit licensees operate and fairly enforcing those laws, rules and principles of safe and sound operation.
The Financial Examinations Division is accredited as a bank supervisory agency by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and conducts on-site examinations in institutions supervised by the Department of Commerce. The division also provides up-to-date evaluations of the financial condition of each institution and guidance when regulatory action is needed to protect consumers.
It is important to note:
National banks are regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). These institutions will often have the word "federal" or "national" as part of their name, and all have the letters "NA" or "na" following their name.
Bank holding companies are regulated by the Federal Reserve. These institutions usually will have the letters "INC" following their name.