Annual

Conference The MTRA Annual Conference and School will be held in Jackson, WY on October 1-4.

The Call for Presentations has been issued with submissions due by Friday, May 18th. The Board is particularly interested in non-lecture type sessions.

If you would like to suggest a topic, or a format for the schedule, we’d like to hear from you! Send an email to Susan.

Our venue is limited in size this year, and has stringent reservation/ cancellation policies. Please make sure you read all the details on the website.

Weather in Jackson is always

unpredictable. A snow shower

is always a possibility, even in

the summer months. Or we

could enjoy Indian summer in

October. Think layers!

The MTRA Board of Directors has been meeting this spring to review and update the strategic plan. Here’s what President Rick St. Onge had to say to Susan Shermer about the process.

SS: Rick, what were the main goals that the Board discussed?

RStO: The Board identified its top priorities:

Education & Training

Accreditation

Communication

Support of Vision 2020 and SES implementation

NMLS 2.0

Continued meetings with federal agencies

SS: Can you tell us a bit more about how the Board intends to support Vision 2020?

RStO: The MTRA Board is contributing in several ways. We are members of the NMLS Policy Committee, State Examination System Development team, and we are seeking new ways of streamlining the licensing process for

MTRA Strategic Plan

fintech and money transmitter companies. By being on various committees and workgroups, we are contributing to the success of Vision 2020. By 2020, regulators will adopt an integrated, 50-state licensing and supervisory system, leveraging technology and smart regulatory policy to transform the interaction between industry, regulators and consumers.

SS: What’s the scoop on accreditation?

RStO: The Accreditation Committee is willing to start working on accreditation of Money Transmitter regulators whenever the States would like to start the process. Most States are busy with development of NMLS 2.0. It would be wise that we wait until mid-2019 when NMLS 2.0 and the State Examination Systems should be in place before we sponsor an accreditation project. SS: When will we hear more on NMLS 2.0?

RStO: The MTRA Board has received a request from the NMLS development team to attend the annual conference and present both NMLS 2.0 and the State Examination System. We are exploring ways to support their request and have them available at the 2018 MTRA Conference in Jackson, WY.

SS: What Schools are coming up through the MTRA?

RStO: In March MTRA held an advanced school in Ft. Lauderdale. (See page 2.) The school was very well received and we have had requests to repeat the school. An intermediate school is planned for the week of July 23, 2018 in Denver (Lone Tree), CO. We are exploring the opportunity to have speakers from the advanced school attend the training provided at the annual conference. Watch for more information on MTRA schools.

MTRA Newsletter Spring 2018, Volume 7

MTRA Newsletter Spring 2018 Page 2 of 4

Name: Adam Johnson Agency: Washington State Department of Financial Institutions Title: Financial Examiner Supervisor

Agency background: Joined DFI in 2007 as a Financial Examiner and has examined check cashers, check sellers, payday lenders, money transmitters, and currency exchangers. Adam developed examination procedures and work programs for several of DFI’s regulated entities, particularly in the MSB area. He currently supervises the Washington MSB Examinations Unit.

National Regulatory Involvement: A multiple time MTRA “Star Achievement Award” recipient, Adam has worked on numerous large money transmitter multi-state exams and coordinated exams as both examiner-in-charge (EIC) and as single-point-of-contact (SPOC). Adam currently represents Washington on the Multi-state MSB Examination Taskforce (MMET) and has served on numerous MMET subcommittees since the taskforce’s inception. He is currently the chair of the NMLS MSB Call Report Working Group and also serves as a member of the CSBS Education Foundation’s Content Development Oversight Committee. In addition, Adam has contributed to and taught at numerous MTRA examiner schools over the years.

College: Western Washington University; BS in Accounting

Family: Jenni (wife), Silas (son, 4)

Current hometown: Olympia, WA

Hobbies/Interests: Adam enjoys traveling with his family, particularly on Disney vacations. He is also a big local sports fan who enjoys cheering on the Washington Huskies, as well as Seattle Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders.

Cereal of choice: Honey Nut Cheerios or Grape-Nuts

Favorite movie series: Star Wars

Favorite food: Fresh Dungeness crab (Yum!!)

Member Spotlight: Adam Johnson

Advanced School held

in Fort Lauderdale

The MTRA Advanced School on cryptocurrency and blockchain was held in early March. The class topped out at maximum capacity of 50 participants. Kevin O’Connor from FinCEN and Simon Ousager from Chainalysis were our featured speakers. Regulators George Etame (NY), Branton Grimes (NC), John Laramie (WA) Justin Vick (WA) were lead by School co-chairs Karen Heede (VA) and Karen Tingley (MI) to round out the presentations.

MTRA gave scholarships to five states to provide more educational opportunities to our members.

More school photos can be found on our Facebook page!

MTRA Newsletter Spring 2018

Page 3 of 4

Upcoming Schools

for member

regulators

Intermediate Examiners School

July 23-26, 2018

Sunday and Friday are travel days.

Denver Marriott South at

Park Meadows Denver (Lone Tree), CO

(on the new light rail system)

Basic details are on the

MTRA website. Five scholarships are available.

Board Member Spotlight: Ryan Seals

Board Member Spotlight: Ryan Seals Name: Ryan Seals Agency: Wyoming Division of Banking Title: Senior Examiner

Agency Background: Ryan joined the Wyoming Division of Banking in 2003 as an Assistant Examiner tasked with creating a new program to regulate the recently passed Wyoming Money Transmitters Act. He developed the application, licensing, and examination standards for compliance with the Act, and began implementing the program for entities operating in the State of Wyoming. Ryan was also designated the BSA/AML subject matter expert for the Division, and established the first State led BSA/AML examination program for State Banking Safety and Soundness examinations in Wyoming. Working closely with federal counterparts, he also provided educational forums to educate State Chartered Financial Institutions on BSA/AML compliance. Ryan continues to oversee the Wyoming Money Transmitter compliance program, and has managed the programs expansion and evolution with over 600% growth in active licensees to date. He remains an active examiner for money transmitters by leading and participating on large multi-state examinations as well as conducting examinations of the Divisions various consumer credit providers.

National Regulatory Involvement: He has been an active member of the MTRA since 2003, and was a participant on several MTRA committees through the years including Co-Chairing the first Uniform Work Program, and Uniform Ratings Committees. Ryan also participated on the first formal money transmitter multi-state examination, and continues to champion the principles of efficient regulation. He has been a student, instructor, and creator of several MTRA Schools and works closely with other associations, States, federal regulators, and industry personnel to assist in the development and implementation of professional education opportunities and training programs in the money transmission arena.

Ryan was elected to the MTRA Board of Directors in 2014, and was appointed Treasurer of the Association in 2018. He is currently an active member on several MTRA committees, and has received several MTRA Star Awards for his efforts.

College: University of Wyoming, Class of 2000, BS in Finance; Minor in Banking and Financial Services

Hometown: Cheyenne, WY

Hobbies/Interests: Traveling internationally, beach resorts, playing golf, attending concerts/live music, going to sporting events, playing guitar and piano (novice), learning Spanish, and spending time with family and friends.

Favorite Food: Mexican

Favorite Superhero: The Incredible Hulk

Favorite Quote: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. – Benjamin Franklin

Favorite TV Show: Big Bang Theory

MTRA Newsletter Spring 2018 Page 4 of 4

News from Member States

Michigan Good Government Symbol of Leadership

The State of Michigan has instituted a special employee recognition program, the Good Government Symbol of Leadership. This program encourages recognizing employees who embody and promote the shared vision and values of Leadership. The Office of Good Government provided each department with a limited number of special coins that are presented to individuals whose extraordinary contributions, actions or efforts go above and beyond expectations.

The Office of Consumer Finance awarded Karen Tingley with a Symbol of Leadership coin in recognition of her leadership and active participation in MTRA. Karen was appointed in the fall to serve a two-year term on the MTRA Board of Directors. In addition, she serves as co-chair of the MTRA Education Steering Committee. She is also a member of the MTRA working group which recently completed updating the standardized work program used during multi-state exams. (Members – you can access the work program through the secure members’ section of the website.)

Upcoming Events

Money Transmitter

Regulators Association

We’re on the Web!

See us at:

http://www.mtraweb.org