January 15, 2020: Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell

An “active, intensive” investigation into the payroll processing industry by state regulators could be coming to an end soon.

Superintendent of Financial Services Linda Lacewell told the Capitol Pressroom Wednesday that most of the companies subpoenaed last fall, following the scandal involving the Capital Region payroll processing company MyPayrollHR, cooperated with her department, which is looking into possible reforms for the industry.

“I like to think we’re getting to the last phase of it,” she said of the investigation.

In her expansive interview with the Capitol Pressroom, Lacewell addressed banking proposals in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state of the state address, a preliminary review of “lawsuit lending” and the need for data privacy protections.

She also provided an update on the department’s new oversight of student loan servicers, which was authorized in the budget passed last year. Lacewell said they will be rolling out a number of initiatives in this area in 2020 and examining particular areas of discrimination, such as the high levels of student debt carrier by women of color.