As Commissioner, he heads an agency charged with the supervision of banks and thrift institutions having aggregate assets in excess of $190 billion; the licensing and regulation of over 1,600 firms and 16,000 individuals engaged in mortgage banking and brokerage; and the regulation of a variety of consumer finance enterprises including finance companies, check cashers, money transmitters and refund anticipation lenders.

Prior to his appointment to office, Commissioner Smith was engaged in the practice of securities and banking law. He was for a number of years the general counsel of a North Carolina bank holding company.

Commissioner Smith is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Virginia Law School and is licensed to practice law in New York and North Carolina. He is the author of a number of articles on banking and financial services issues, including: “Savings for the Poor: The Hidden Benefits of Electronic Banking: A Review and Response,” 5 NC Banking Inst. 1 (2001); “The Federal Banking Agencies’ Guidance on Subprime Lending: Regulation with a Divided Mind,” 6 N.C. Banking Inst. 75 (2002); “Federal and State Regulation of Financial Services: Competition and the Search for Comity,” Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report , Vol. 57, Nos. 2-4 (Spring – Fall 2003) and “Financial Literacy, Regulation and Consumer Welfare,” 8 N.C. Banking Inst. 77 (2004). Commissioner Smith is a Vice Chairman of the Conference of State Banks Supervisors and has served as Chair of that organization’s Legislative and Regulatory Committees. He was an organizing Manager of the limited liability company established to implement the CSBS / AARMR National Mortgage Licensing Initiative.

Commissioner Smith is the father of two grown sons and resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, with Elizabeth Marion Smith, his wife of twenty-eight years, and Keeper, an imperious but loveable Tibetan Spaniel.