Karen Smith

Karen Smith is an assistant vice president in Banking Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In this role, she leads the Mergers and Acquisitions unit, which is responsible for assessing and acting on applications and notices related to institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve.

Additionally, she oversees a team of examiners in the Enforcement and Holding Company unit, which is responsible for conducting holding-company inspections for non-member organizations with assets under $10 billion and managing oversight of enforcement actions. Smith also leads Banking Supervision’s internal Records Management team.

Smith is a commissioned bank examiner with experience in consumer affairs early in her career. Before her promotion to assistant vice president in 2024, she served as an analyst and then a director in Mergers and Acquisitions.

Smith holds a BBA in economics and finance from Baylor University and has earned a managerial leadership certificate from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.