The MTRA Board of Directors congratulates board member Greg Gonzales for his appointment to fill the position of Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions. Greg was named Commissioner and to the cabinet by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and took the oath of office during the Governor’s second inauguration on January 20, 2007. He is the Department’s 18th Commissioner.

Gonzales has served as the Department’s Acting Commissioner since December 2005. He has worked for Financial Institutions since 1986, and his duties have included serving as general counsel, as well as directing budget, human resources and legislative efforts for the Department. Gonzales is a Tennessee Technological University graduate and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee.

“I am grateful to Governor Bredesen for his confidence in me,” Gonzales said. “After serving more than 20 years in the Department of Financial Institutions in a number of different roles, including most recently as Acting Commissioner, I am honored to lead this agency. I will continue the Department’s work in ensuring that Tennessee’s financial institutions remain safe and sound for the people of Tennessee.”

The Department of Financial Institutions is responsible for monitoring the safety and soundness of all state-chartered depository financial institutions and for ensuring that licensed non-depository financial institutions comply with governing laws and regulations.

Gonzales has been an active member of the MTRA board of directors for many years, and more recently served as Vice President. He was instrumental in drafting legislative guidelines for money transmission laws, used widely by many states in modernizing their money transmission laws. He was also instrumental in drafting an interstate cooperative agreement, executed so far by 34 states that regulate money transmission.