Report: State agency lagged in enforcement, impeded auditors

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's comptroller says the state office responsible for regulating the title insurance industry has lagged in its enforcement and impeded auditors' access to certain records.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's (dee-NAP'-oh-leez) report released Wednesday says auditors found that from 2011 to 2018 the Department of Financial Services wasn't as stringent as it should have been in cracking down on improper business conduct in the title insurance industry.

The auditors say DFS fines and other penalties lagged despite the agency's concerns about inappropriate practices.

The report also says DFS officials delayed access to documents auditors needed to evaluate the agency's oversight efforts and hampered meetings with agency staff.

DFS says it has made changes to improve enforcement against wrongdoing. The agency blames information access delays on "confusion regarding the shift in the audit scope."