WASHINGTON - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will soon start offering banks on-site examiners. In the first example of such a move, the agency said that it would put an examiner at the Bank of Hawaii.
The Honolulu-based bank asked the FDIC for an on-site representative in order to improve "coordination and communication," according to George J. Masa, regional director of supervision for the FDIC in San Francisco. In the past, the agency relied on its 90 field offices for access to its larger banks. Mr. Masa pointed out that the agency had not had a presence in Hawaii.
"I think the Bank of Hawaii should be complimented for asking for an on-site examiner," he said. "Historically, the FDIC has not put examiners into banks, but other agencies have started to offer it. We are in talks with several other institutions to put examiners on-site there as well."
The Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have examiners on site full-time at large banks.
