Skip to main content

Search form

Peter Smith

Senior Researcher

Peter Smith is a senior researcher leading on overdraft practices, as well as works on mortgages, student loans and bank payday loan issues. Pete has been with CRL since 2005, authoring numerous reports and briefs, and creating body of often-cited research literature.

He was born and raised in Maryland, and attended the University of Maryland's Honors Program, where he graduated with a BS in Mathematics. Based CRL's Oakland (CA) office, Pete is entering the Masters of City Planning program at the University of California at Berkeley. In his spare time, he is an avid record collector and Scrabble player.

Research & Policy

Our in-depth research of financial practices is intended to guide policymakers and opinion leaders working to improve the state of lending.

Pages

News

May 18, 2022 | By Laurence Darmiento | Los Angeles Times
That less-than-personal touch has given ammunition to critics, who say deceptive interfaces and bogus promotions of “community” are used by cash-advance apps to persuade customers to tip the...
May 17, 2022 | By Megan Leonhardt | Fortune
“It's great that a lot of large financial institutions are making a move away from fee-based overdraft for their customers,” says Peter Smith, a senior researcher for the left-leaning Center for...
July 12, 2021 | By Penelope Wang | Consumer Reports
As noted earlier, many major banks offer Bank On accounts. All told, these accounts are available at 40 percent of bank branches nationwide, according to David Rothstein, senior principal at CFE Fund...
June 3, 2020
Banks collected more than $11.68 billion in 2019 through abusive overdraft practices that drain consumers’ checking accounts Congress, Regulators, and Banks all have the responsibility and power...

Pages