[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16854-16856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06282]
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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request Re National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked
Households
AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
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SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on the revised survey collection instrument
for its third National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
(``Household Survey''), currently approved under OMB Control No. 3064-
0167, scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census
Bureau as a supplement to its June 2013 Current Population Survey
(``CPS''). The collection is a key component of the FDIC's efforts to
comply with a Congressional mandate contained in section 7 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Conforming Amendments Act of 2005
(``Reform Act'') (Pub. L. 109-173), which calls for the FDIC to conduct
ongoing surveys ``on efforts by insured depository institutions to
bring those individuals and families who have rarely, if ever, held a
checking account, a savings account or other type of transaction or
check cashing account at an insured depository institution (hereafter
in this section referred to as the `unbanked') into the conventional
finance system.'' Section 7 further instructs the FDIC to consider
several factors in its conduct of the surveys, including: (1) ``what
cultural, language and identification issues as well as transaction
costs appear to most prevent `unbanked' individuals from establishing
conventional accounts''; and (2) ``what is a fair estimate of the size
and worth of the ``unbanked'' market in the United States.'' The
Household Survey is designed to address these factors and provide a
factual basis on the proportions of unbanked households. Such a factual
basis is necessary to adequately assess banks' efforts to serve these
households as required by the statutory mandate.
To satisfy the Congressional mandate, the FDIC designed two
complementary surveys: a survey of FDIC-insured depository institutions
and a survey of households. The survey of FDIC-insured depository
institutions, aimed at collecting data on their efforts to serve
underbanked, as well as unbanked, populations (underbanked populations
include individuals who have an account with an insured depository but
also rely on non-bank alternative financial service providers for
transaction services or high cost credit products), was conducted in
mid-2007 and again in 2011. The results of the 2007 survey were
released in February 2008 and the results of the 2011 survey were
released in December 2012. The first survey of unbanked and underbanked
households was conducted in January 2009 as a CPS supplement and the
results were released to the public in December 2009. The second survey
of unbanked and underbanked households was conducted in June 2011 and
the results were released to the public in September 2012. The
Household Survey seeks to estimate the proportions of unbanked and
underbanked households in the U.S. and to identify the factors that
inhibit the participation of these households in the mainstream banking
system. The results of these ongoing surveys will help policymakers and
bankers understand the issues and challenges underserved households
perceive when deciding how and where to conduct financial transactions.
This notice addresses the next Household Survey.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 18, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by
any of the following methods. All comments should refer to ``National
Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households'':
http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
Email: [email protected]. Include the name and number of
the collection in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Leneta Gregorie (202-898-3719), Counsel, Legal
Division, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20429.
Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand-delivered to the guard
station at the rear of the 550 17th Street Building (located on F
Street), on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested members of the public may
obtain a copy of the survey and related instructions by clicking on the
link for the National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey on the
following Web page: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/notices.html. Interested members of the public may also obtain
additional information about the collection, including a paper copy of
the proposed collection and related instructions, without charge, by
contacting Leneta Gregorie at the address identified above, or by
calling (202) 898-3719.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC is requesting OMB approval to
revise the following collection of information:
Title: National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey.
OMB Number: 3064-0167.
[[Page 16855]]
Frequency of Response: Once.
Affected Public: U.S. Households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,000.
Average Time per Response: 12 minutes (0.2 hours) per respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.2 hours x 45,000 respondents =
9,000 hours.
General Description of Collection
A mandate in section 7 of the Reform Act requires the FDIC to
conduct ongoing surveys on efforts by banks to bring unbanked
individuals and families into the conventional finance system. Section
7 further instructs the FDIC to consider several factors in its conduct
of the surveys, including the size of the unbanked market in the United
States and the cultural, language and identification issues as well as
transaction costs that appear to most prevent unbanked individuals from
establishing conventional accounts. To obtain this information, the
FDIC partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau, which administered the
Household Survey supplement (``FDIC Supplement') to households that
participated in the January 2009 and June 2011 CPS. The FDIC supplement
has yielded significant data on the extent and demographic
characteristics of the population that is unbanked or underbanked, the
use by this population of alternative financial services, and the
reasons why some households do not make greater use of traditional
banking services. The Household Survey was the first survey of its kind
to be conducted at the national level. An executive summary of the
results of the first and second Household Surveys, the full reports,
and the survey instruments can be accessed through the following link:
http://www.economicinclusion.gov/surveys/.
Consistent with the statutory mandate to conduct the surveys on an
ongoing basis, the FDIC already has in place arrangements for conduct
of its third Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2013 CPS.
However, prior to finalizing the next survey instrument, the FDIC
sought public comment on whether changes to the existing instrument
were desirable and, if so, to what extent. It should be noted that, as
a supplement of the CPS survey, the Household Survey needs to adhere to
specific parameters that include limits in the length and sensitivity
of the questions that can be asked of CPS respondents. Specifically,
there is a strict limitation on the number of questions permitted and
the average time required to complete the survey (12 minutes on
average).
Comment Discussion
On October 19, 2012 (77 FR 64337), the FDIC issued a request for
comment on possible revisions to the 2013 Household Survey. The FDIC
received five comments related to this survey effort. All commenters
were supportive of efforts to bring unbanked and underbanked households
into the financial mainstream.
One commenter suggested that the FDIC drill down further on the
reasons for not using conventional/traditional financial institutions
and suggested that income, judgments, liens, felony convictions, and
``choice'' (i.e., personal preference) are possible reasons for being
unbanked. The FDIC continues to revise the survey instrument to better
capture the full range of reasons why households do not have bank
accounts. Answer options for this question have been clarified and
streamlined. The 2013 survey adds an answer option that intends to
capture households that feel that not having a bank account provides
more privacy for personal finances. And, the 2013 survey asks
households to select all applicable reasons for not having an account,
but also indicate the most important reason, which will allow us to
capture a more complete set of reasons.
Several comments related to the need to better understand
households' use of prepaid cards, including the cards' cost structures,
and the use of direct deposit in conjunction with prepaid cards. One
commenter further suggested that the FDIC consider an alternative
unbanked definition that excludes households that regularly use prepaid
cards. The FDIC agrees that the use of prepaid cards is relatively
high, and increasing, among unbanked and underbanked households. In
response, the revised Household Survey asks a number of new questions
about prepaid cards that seek to capture the timing of households'
prepaid card use, the reasons for using these cards, where they are
purchased, and how they are accessed and loaded.
One commenter mentioned the need to better understand households'
financial decision-making, especially related to the choice between
financial services or products such as: direct deposit vs. check-
cashing, prepaid card vs. bank account. The FDIC agrees that this is an
area of interest, but capturing this information would require more
substantial revisions to survey than we are able to accommodate given
the timeframe for the 2013 survey. This comment will be considered in
future survey efforts.
Another suggestion referred to gaining further detail on the
competitive advantages and disadvantages of financial service
providers. The 2013 Household survey includes questions about what
methods households use to access bank accounts, as well as locations
used to access alternative financial services. This information should
provide additional information regarding consumer preferences for
accessing financial services.
One commenter requested that financial education questions be added
to the survey. The FDIC recognizes the value of assessing financial
education levels in conjunction with the use of financial services and
products. However, financial education is difficult to measure at the
household level. A good financial education assessment requires
including a set of questions that test the respondents' financial
capability, which might or might not be representative of that of the
household.
Another commenter requested that the survey provide results for
smaller demographic groups, and allow for more cross tabulations of
data, and suggested having the Household Survey be a part of the
American Community Survey (ACS) as opposed to the CPS. The FDIC
recognizes the value of having questions regarding banking status
administered as part of the ACS, as the ACS's large sample size would
allow for analysis at smaller demographic and geographic levels. The
FDIC may investigate proposing new ACS content through the content
change process managed by OMB and the Census Bureau. However, the
current data collection, as part of the CPS, does allow for many
meaningful analyses of demographic groups. In many cases, individual
users can use the public use dataset from the Census Bureau to perform
a wide variety of demographic analyses, including some that may be more
detailed than the FDIC published in its own reports on the Household
Survey.
The FDIC also received a suggestion regarding the implementation of
the survey. The commenter suggested that an in-person survey would
facilitate data collection. The Household Survey is a supplement to the
Census Bureau's Current Population Survey which is predominantly an in-
person survey.
Request for Comment
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance of the FDIC's functions,
including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the
accuracy of the estimates of the burden of the information collection;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
[[Page 16856]]
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the information collection on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
The FDIC will consider all comments to determine the extent to
which the information collection should be modified prior to submission
to OMB for review and approval. After the comment period closes,
comments will be summarized and/or included in the FDIC's request to
OMB for approval of the collection. All comments will become a matter
of public record.
Dated at Washington, DC, this 14th day of March, 2013.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-06282 Filed 3-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P