Lawsky, Wrynn to Lead New York’s Reshuffled Regulatory Arm

Benjamin M. Lawsky has been nominated as superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, the combined regulator of insurance, banking and related businesses in the Empire State.

The new department — the combination of the Banking Department and State Department of Insurance — was created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as part of the state’s newest budget.

Lawsky is currently the Governor’s chief of staff. He previously served as the deputy counselor and special assistant throughout the administration of then-Attorney General Cuomo.

Prior to that, Lawsky spent more than five years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted securities fraud, organized crime, and terrorism cases. Previous to that, Lawsky served as chief counsel to Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a trial attorney in the civil division of the Department of Justice.

James J. Wrynn will be appointed to serve as deputy superintendent of Financial Services. Most recently, Wrynn was the superintendent for the New York State Insurance Department. Prior to that, he spent 25 years as a trial attorney focusing in the areas of life, accident and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, general liability insurance, insurance coverage disputes, professional malpractice, and product liability.