The MTRA Joint Examinations Committee has had a productive 2004-2005 term and is looking forward to establishing new goals for the coming 2005-2006 term. During the past twelve months and since the last MTRA conference in Denver, Colorado the committee has worked diligently to encourage MTRA member states to conduct joint examinations of common license holders. In addition, the committee continues to act as a resource for member states and to encourage communication between all member states with the hopes that this will lead to the sharing of reports of examination between member states as contemplated in the MTRA Cooperative Agreement.
During the past year, with guidance from the committee for planning and coordination purposes, a total of nine joint examinations were conducted. Lead states for these examinations included California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. For these joint reports of examination, the lead states utilized the core examination report pages and notification documents that were developed by the committee during the 2003-2004 term and which are available to all member states. Also, during the course of the year, the committee assisted in the coordination and planning of several “training” examinations which provided an opportunity for states developing examination programs to work with states that have on-going MSB examination programs and experience examining MSBs. States that participated for training purposes at these examinations were Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming.
The committee has also developed a list of criteria that must be met by states that want to serve as “lead state” for joint examinations. Also, to receive feedback from licensees that are examined jointly by MTRA member states, the committee implemented a survey questionnaire. Lastly, the committee assisted in developing a new section of the secure area of the MTRA website which displays a list of the joint examinations conducted. This section of the website entitled “Copies of Examination Reports of Money Transmitters” provides instructions, guidelines, and contact information to member states for requesting copies of joint examination reports.
An organizational meeting of the committee for the upcoming 2005-2006 term will take place on Tuesday, November 8, 2005 at 5:30 p.m. at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina during the MTRA Conference. The committee is seeking new members for the upcoming term and requests representatives from each member state to attend.
For more information about the committee’s work, one may contact Bert Gonzalez at the Texas Department of Banking or John Bishop at the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions