Department of Finance sees more filing activity

Brad Iverson-Long//February 4, 2015//

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The Idaho Department of Finance saw a more than 5 percent increase in business filings, licenses and registrations in 2014, with more than 168,000 filings. The department’s securities bureau reported a record 113,084 securities filings and professionals licensing to do business in Idaho. That paperwork came from people in every U.S. state and 23 other countries.

The number of mortgage loan originator and broker/lender licenses as well as number of regulated consumer lending industries also increased.

The Department of Finance oversees banks, credit unions, mortgage and consumer lending and financial securities industries. The department saw increased use of online filing, with more than 90 percent of licensees and registrants using online tools rather than paper to register with the state.

The department is also in charge of financial fraud investigations. It reported that the dollar amount of fraud has declined from record highs after the Great Recession to approximately $16 million last year. The department started or completed 30 enforcement actions in 2014, up from 23 in 2013, with citizens receiving refunds or restitution worth roughly $4 million.

While the number of people filing to do business in financial services is up, the number of Idaho-based banks and credit unions declined last year. Three Idaho-based banks merged, with Home Federal Bank of Nampa joining Oregon-based Bank of the Cascades, Boise’s Idaho Banking Co. now part of Burley’s D.L. Evans Bank and Panhandle State Bank merged into Washington-based Columbia State Bank. There were four credit unions, lowering the number of Idaho-headquartered credit unions to 41.