Melanie Hall, commissioner of the Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, told the Section A Appropriations Subcommittee that the division has no legislative or budget requests for the 2027 biennium and draws all of its funding from assessments on the firms it supervises.

Hall said the division charters, licenses and examines Montana banks, credit unions, mortgage brokers, loan originators, escrow companies and other consumer finance firms and provides a consumer-complaint process that works with the attorney general's office and the insurance commissioner. "We do not get any revenue from the general fund; it is all state special revenue," she said.

The division supervises 34 state‑chartered banks and 10 state‑chartered credit unions with combined assets of about $80 billion; it licenses roughly 5,000 individuals and issues about 800 company licenses annually. Hall described the division's funding mix as about 58% from banks and trust companies, 33% from mortgage companies and 8% from credit unions, with a small share from other nondepository consumer finance companies. The division adjusted its assessment method in recent years to charge institutions based on asset size rather than entity type, Hall said.

Why it matters: state supervision covers two of Montana's institutions that are among the 100 largest U.S. banks, Hall said, so the division is expanding examiner training and technical capacity to supervise more complex balance sheets while coordinating with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve. That scale change affects revenue volatility for the division because large acquisitions can raise assessed assets without an immediate matching increase in workload drawing on the division's appropriated authority.

Details and priorities: Hall said the division is focused on improving data and document flows using existing SITSD solutions, rehired an experienced staffer to manage workflow efficiencies, and intends to accept other states' accredited examinations for out‑of‑state licensees that do minimal business in Montana to avoid duplicative full reviews. "We are working really hard to make sure our examiners are up to speed and able to understand those complexities and work with our federal counterparts," she said.

On mortgage servicing the division has licensed and examined servicers since about 2011–2012, Hall said, and has participated in large multistate exams of firms such as Quicken and earlier reviews of Ocwen, PHH, Rocket and Nationstar. The division does not license or oversee government agencies that provide mortgage origination or servicing under the mortgage‑servicing statutes, Hall said in response to a committee question.

Trigger leads and consumer protection: Asked about "trigger leads"—the practice where a credit pull can lead to third‑party marketing—the commissioner said the division "fully supports" legislative action and is willing to work with sponsors; she also said the division believes it may have authority to address aspects of trigger leads by administrative rule if preferred. The subcommittee chair and other members signaled interest in that work.

Budget and fee mechanics: Hall explained the division reviews fees annually and has previously reduced rates when assessed revenue exceeded the cost of regulation. "We every year reevaluate our fees to make sure that our fees are in line with our programs and if they are not we then do a rate reduction in the following year," she said, noting a roughly $1.5 million reduction two years ago as an example of a "rate holiday."

No formal actions were taken by the committee during the presentation; committee members asked clarifying questions about servicer examinations, fee methodology, and the division's authority on trigger leads.