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Reading the Disclosures
I went to the bank to open a simple checking account and left with a ton of paperwork. Why is this necessary and does the bank really expect me to read all this stuff?
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 You do need to read and understand these documents. They are for your protection and will help you understand your rights and responsibilities, as well as the bank's.
The disclosures that are given to customers are most often required by one or more laws, which may be federal, state, or both. For example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires a financial institution to provide a notice of the institution's privacy policy and practices to new consumer customers. The Expedited Funds Availability Act and Regulation CC require notices that explain when the funds represented by the checks you deposit will be available for you to withdraw or write checks against. The Truth in Savings Act causes financial institutions to provide a disclosure of rates, terms and fees on their consumer deposit accounts. Those are just a few examples. The laws requiring the disclosures typically specify what the disclosures must say, with some differences based on the bank's way of doing business.
The bottom line is that these documents will help you understand the terms of the contractual agreement between you and your bank. The bank is telling you what services they will provide, under what circumstances, and what the cost will be, and you are agreeing to these terms.
The bank isn't required to make sure you read these in advance and quite honestly, most people don't. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. At the very least, look at them after you open your account and keep them in a safe place so you can refer to them when you need to. You should also ask your bank some advance questions, such as, "Is there a penalty if I close this account in the next thrity days?" and things like that. If you read these disclosures only after you get home, it may too late to avoid something you don't want.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 7/28/06
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