Safety and Soundness Certification

The CEM certification is step 4 in the CSBS bank safety and soundness credentialing program for those who have managerial and/or supervisory responsibilities. Candidates for the CEM designation must provide evidence of the following:

• Completion of a minimum of five (5) years employment with a state regulatory agency including one (1) year of on-the-job service and training related to a management/supervisory role (e.g., Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Examiner, etc.).
• Satisfactory completion of the following course offerings or their equivalent:
  • Course requirements for the COE, CCE, and CEIC designations and
  • CSBS LEAD School (formerly, Senior School) or
  • Advanced management training (including in-house programs) or
  • Graduate School of Banking or
  • University graduate programs, particularly those focusing on banking, economics, finance, and/or business
• Attestation of successful job performance and mastery of appropriate job-related skills by the applicant's direct supervisor or another individual familiar with the applicant's performance.

Applicants must ensure that they meet all certification requirements and will then complete an attestation of successful job performance and mastery of job-related skills, providing a thorough written response for each competency category. Their supervisor will then review and affirm the attestation to ensure accuracy and completeness. The core competencies are an integral part of the certification, and a high degree of reliance is placed on the attestation for determining compliance with these skill areas. The supervisor reviewing the application form should be familiar with the applicant’s experience, performance, and skills/abilities and be confident that the applicant meets all the requirements outlined in the form.

TECHNICAL - Provides effective leadership and organization to the department by:

• Effectively supervising personnel to ensure adherence to all procedures and policies
• Monitoring senior examination personnel to ensure department mission, goals, and responsibilities are being met
• Effectively organizing and delegating assignments
• Effectively supervising the entire examination process
• Effectively providing for personnel management in the areas of budgeting, recruiting, training, team-building, negotiation, motivation, coaching/counseling, performance evaluation, and disciplinary actions
• Effectively participating in departmental policy formulation and strategic planning

CONCEPTUAL - Provides effective supervision of the overall activities of financial institutions by:

• Effectively determining financial institution condition from completed reports of examination
• Effectively administering appropriate departmental response from examination findings

LEGAL/COMPLIANCE - Effectively demonstrates knowledge of policies, procedures, laws, rules and regulations.

HUMAN RELATIONS - Provides effective oral and written communications by:

• Effectively and clearly communicating with people and organizations internal and external to the department
• Effectively conducting meetings with management and the boards of directors of financial institutions
• Effectively coordinating examination planning, execution and regulatory response with other state and federal financial institution supervisory authorities
• Effectively and clearly communicating with other state agencies and the state legislature

RECERTIFICATION

Every three years, participants will be required to provide evidence of the successful completion of a minimum of 63 continuing education hours (CEH). If an examiner exceeds this requirement, up to 14 CEHs may be carried over into the new three-year term. Continuing education should be selected with the goal of maintaining, improving, or expanding the examiner’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Participants are also required to review and remain in compliance with updates to certifications. Should a material change related to the certification occur, additional training may be required to maintain certification.