Appointments
Edward Leary, Commissioner Financial Institutions
G. Edward Leary was appointed Commissioner of the Utah Department of Financial Institutions in June 1992. He joined the Department in 1977 as an examiner and rose
through the ranks, holding positions as industry supervisor and Chief Examiner before his appointment as Commissioner.
Commissioner Leary serves as Chairman of the Board of Financial Institutions, a member of the Utah Housing Corporation board, Utah Appraiser Registration and
Certification Board, Residential Mortgage Regulatory Commission and he provides support to the Utah Money Management Council. He is the past Chairman of the
Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the national association of state banking supervisors and currently serves on CSBS's board representing all western
states. He is the past Chairman of CSBS's Technology Committee. He is the past Chairman of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's State
Liaison Committee representing state banking commissioners. He has testified before both houses of the U. S. Congress on financial institution regulation and
public policy issues.
Under Commissioner Leary's leadership, the Department became accredited by Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the National Association of State Credit Union
supervisors; fostered the development of the Industrial Loan Corporation (Industrial Banks) industry in Utah and successfully introduced legislation reducing
regulatory fees by 30 percent, as well as rewriting portions of Utah's Financial Institutions Act, facilitating interstate banking and branching, allowing
foreign-owned depository institutions, updating ATM law, authorizing state-chartered depository institutions to engage in the insurance business and positioning
Utah trust laws among the most progressive in the nation.
Commissioner Leary is a strong advocate of the state banking system and preserving the innovation and flexibility of state-chartered financial institutions. He
has worked for the preservation of states authority to charter and regulate financial institutions and financial services companies.
Commissioner Leary holds a B.S. in political science and an MBA from the University of Utah. He retired in 1995 as a Captain in the US Naval Reserve. He is
married to the former Betty Chamberlain and they have five children.
