Secretary Keating Heinemann

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions mission is to ensure the safety and soundness of Wisconsin's financial institutions, to protect the consumers of financial services, and to facilitate economic growth - all as key components of Governor Jim Doyle's Grow Wisconsin plan.

The agency regulates and licenses financial service providers who do business in Wisconsin. The Division of Banking regulates 232 state-chartered banks, the Office of Credit Unions regulates 265 state-chartered credit unions, and our Division of Securities licences over 107,198 securities representatives and investment advisors who do business with Wisconsin clients. In addition, the Division of Corporate and Consumer Services maintains the corporate filings for over 175,793 LLCs and 131,867 business companies who are registered to do business in Wisconsin.

Our Banking Division also licenses mortgage bankers and brokers, loan originators, and payday lenders. The Division has legal responsibility for assuring that the Wisconsin banking system runs on a safe and sound basis. In its supervisory role, the department periodically examines the financial soundness of each financial institution it regulates.

To further our role in consumer protection, the DFI's Office of Consumer Affairs assists consumers with complaints which fall under the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA). The WCA is one of the strongest consumer protection laws in the U.S. and covers credit transcations under $25,000. Our Office of Financial Literacy (OFL) is a nationally recognized leader in providing financial education through statewide programs. The OFL's National Institute for Financial and Economic Education has trained nearly 500 teachers and they in turn have brought personal finance training to over 50,000 students in our state. The Governor's Council on Financial Literacy, established by Governor Jim Doyle in 2005, was established to create a public/private partnership which focuses on measurably improving the financial literacy of Wisconsin's Citizens. Please connect into our Financial Literacy Resource Center to connect to dozens of good ideas for parents, educators, and consumers.

Finally, in our role to facilitate economic growth, the DFI has partnered with the Department of Commerce and the Wisconsin Technology Council to create the Wisconsin Angel Network (WAN). WAN is a Grow Wisconsin initiative that has raised the awareness of angel investing in our state. Having "access to capital" is a key component of a healthy economy, and banks, credit unions, angel investors and venture capitalists all play a key role in helping connect resources to good business ideas. Please tap into our Angel Resource Center to learn more about the capital resources in our state.