Department of Banking and Finance

Please note that the NDFI Division (mortgage and money service businesses-related matters) does not accept walk-ins.  Please call (770) 986-1136 to make an appointment to speak to a member of our staff.

View the Department's Mission, Vision, Motto and Core Values.

Financial Institutions and financial service providers are subject to strong statutory and regulatory requirements at both the federal and state levels. We share regulatory responsibility for Georgia state-chartered financial institutions with our federal counterparts (FDIC, FRB, NCUA). For activities taking place within Georgia, we are the sole regulatory agency for mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, consumer installment lenders, and money service businesses, which includes sellers/issuers of payment instruments, money transmitters, and check cashers (with the exception of the CFPB, which enforces federal consumer financial laws, and FinCEN and the IRS, which supervise the Bank Secrecy Act, USA PATRIOT Act and other Anti-Money-Laundering efforts).

Who We Regulate

Specifically, the Department regulates the following types of financial institutions and financial service providers doing business in this State.

• Georgia State-Chartered Banks
• Bank Holding Companies
• Georgia State-Chartered Trust Companies
• Georgia State-Chartered Credit Unions
• Georgia-chartered Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Banks (MALPBs)
• Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage Brokers, Mortgage Processors and Mortgage Loan Originators 
• Money Transmitters
• Sellers of Payment Instruments
• Check Cashers
• Consumer Installment Lenders
• Foreign Banking Organizations 

The Department does not regulate national banks (e.g.: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, Citibank, PNC) or federal credit unions, whether operating in Georgia or elsewhere.  The Department also does not regulate out-of-state chartered banks (e.g. Truist, Regions) or credit unions, regardless of where they are operating.