Mississippi Banking Department asks for modest budget increase, stresses staffing, travel costs and crypto oversight readiness

Jackson — The Mississippi Department of Banking asked the Senate appropriations committee on Nov. 1 to approve a modest FY2026 budget increase while emphasizing staffing and operational challenges tied to travel costs and emerging payment technologies.

Commissioner Roshanda Kelly told the committee the department’s FY2026 request is about $83,691 above the current year — a 0.65% increase — to cover in-range salary adjustments, travel and other inflationary costs while asking the Legislature to retain existing positions rather than fund new head count. “We are proposing using that 2025 authority as part of our 2026 budget request,” Kelly said.

Why it matters: The department regulates banks and a large and growing nonbank sector and said rising reimbursement rates and travel costs materially affect its operating budget. It also signaled the agency expects to take on more regulatory responsibility if state lawmakers act on money-transmitter and cryptocurrency bills this session.

What the department told lawmakers

- Scope and scale: Kelly said the department licenses about 9,000 nonbank financial-service providers representing roughly 7,900 mortgage companies, branches and individuals; its consumer finance portfolio includes about 2,100 licensees; and the state-chartered banking division supervises 54 state-chartered banks and one…