Pew Charitable Trust has surveyed the checking account paperwork of the major banks, producing two major studies showing the exhorbitantly long median length of the paperwork involved in opening these accounts and making suggestions for reform, including on overdraft fees and the reordering of withdrawals.  Their most recent study from their Checking in an Electronic Age Project was released June 8, 2012 and can be found here; on release, Pew then reported that there had been few improvements since its 2010 major study. 

The LA Times yesterday reports here that several large banks and credit unions are now seeking to incorporate Pew’s suggestions for simplified disclosures.   Pew recommends that the CFPB institute standardized, simplified disclosure forms, and Fair Contracts endorses that recommendation.