[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18402-18404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07798]
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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request Regarding the National Survey of Unbanked and
Underbanked Households (3064-0167)
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, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment
on the survey collection instrument for its fourth National Survey of
Unbanked and Underbanked Households (2015 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
2015 Current Population Survey (CPS). The 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, and opportunities to expand the use
of banking services among underserved consumers. 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.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 6, 2015.
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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: Gary Kuiper, Counsel, (202.898.3877), MB-3074, or
John Popeo, Counsel, (202.898.6923), MB-3007, 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/.
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 Gary Kuiper or
John Popeo at the address or telephone numbers identified above.
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.
Frequency of Response: Once.
Affected Public: U.S. households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 42,000.
Average Time per Response: 12 minutes (0.2 hours) per respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.2 hours x 42,000 respondents =
8,400 hours.
General Description of Collection
The FDIC recognizes that public confidence in the banking system is
strengthened when banks effectively serve the broadest possible set of
consumers. As a result, the agency is committed to increasing the
participation of unbanked and underbanked households in the financial
mainstream by ensuring that all Americans have access to safe, secure,
and affordable banking services. These National Surveys of Unbanked and
Underbanked Households are one contribution to this end.
These National Surveys of Unbanked and Underbanked Households are
also 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 2015 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 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, June
2011, and June 2013 CPS. The results of these surveys were released to
the public in December 2009, September 2012, and October 2014,
respectively.
The FDIC supplement has yielded nationally-representative data, not
otherwise available, on the size and 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 mainstream banking services. These National
Surveys of Unbanked and Underbanked Households are the only population-
representative surveys conducted at the national level that provides
state-level estimates of the size and characteristics of unbanked and
underbanked households for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
An executive summary of the results of the first three 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
conducting the fourth Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2015
CPS. However, prior to finalizing the next survey instrument, the FDIC
seeks to solicit public comment on whether changes to the existing
instrument are desirable and, if so, to what extent. It should be noted
that, as a supplement of the CPS survey, the 2015 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 average
time required to complete the survey.
Comment Discussion
On January 22, 2015 (80 FR 3234), the FDIC issued a request for
comment on possible revisions to the 2015 Household Survey. The FDIC
received three comments related to this survey effort. One of the
commenters suggested that the FDIC collect information on household
asset levels. The commenter noted that this would allow retail banks
that use asset levels in their segmentation and strategy work to easily
incorporate data from the 2015 Household Survey into their analyses.
The FDIC seeks to provide insights from the 2015 Household Survey to
inform efforts to better meet the needs of underserved consumers, and
strongly encourages use of the survey data by financial institutions
and other stakeholders. The FDIC is concerned that households' asset
holdings may be sensitive information for many households and that
asking for this information may reduce participation in the survey. In
all of the surveys to date, including the 2015 Household Survey, there
are no survey questions that ask households for specific dollar amounts
regarding saving, assets or spending. The 2015 Household Survey does
contain some new questions that will help the FDIC better understand
households' savings behavior, including ways in which households save
money, and about their ability to meet their monthly obligations.
Detailed data on households' asset holdings are available from other
sources, such as the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances.
One commenter cautioned against the use of online methods for
conducting the 2015 Household Survey. The 2015 Household Survey is an
interviewer-administered survey conducted by the Census Bureau in-
person or by telephone.
One commenter recommended that the 2015 Household Survey retain as
[[Page 18404]]
many questions as possible from the 2013 Survey, including questions on
prepaid cards, direct deposit and reasons for not having a bank
account, to allow local and national Bank-On programs to measure the
impact of their efforts. The FDIC values the ability to compare results
over time and the 2015 Household Survey retains successful elements of
the previous surveys, including the core unbanked and underbanked
measurements, while also reorganizing and adding questions to gain new
insights relevant to serving a diverse range of consumers. The 2015
Household Survey retains many questions from previous surveys and
continues to collect information on the use of prepaid cards, direct
deposits, and the reasons for not having a bank account.
One commenter suggested the addition of specific questions to
measure household financial fragility to help understand the
connections between emergency savings and banking access (i.e.,
household's ability to access $2000). The 2015 Household Survey does
not include this particular question due to the need to keep the
average length short to reduce non-response. However, it contains a
number of new questions that will help the FDIC better understand
households' financial condition. Specifically, the survey will ask
about ways in which households save money, their ability to meet their
monthly obligations, their income volatility, and their access to
mainstream credit.
One commenter suggested collecting information on a wider range of
credit products. The 2015 questionnaire added a new section on the use
of credit products, including mainstream banking credit products (e.g.,
credit cards, line of credits) to capture a more complete picture of
households' use of credit. However, due to space constraints, questions
are focused on mainstream credit products that are more likely to be
substitutes for the small-dollar, short-term credit available from
alternative financial service providers. The commenter also suggested
collecting more information on the frequency of use of credit and
transaction products in order to better understand households' varying
intensity of use of these products. This suggestion is in part
addressed by the revisions made in the 2015 survey. In addition to the
use of financial products in the last 12 months, the proposed survey
also asks households about their typical use of these products to
better differentiate regular users from one-time users.
The commenter also made suggestions to improve the usability of the
online tool for analyzing the survey data that is currently available
at www.economicinclusion.gov. These comments are helpful and will be
taken into account the next time we consider revising the tools.
One commenter encouraged the FDIC to offer training to
municipalities and others on how to use and maximize the opportunities
offered by the custom table generator at: www.economicinclusion.gov.
The FDIC's Community Affairs staff work with local stakeholders to
disseminate information about how to use and access the survey data,
including the use of the table generator tool at:
www.economicinclusion.gov. The FDIC will continue to make sure that
this information is regularly shared in presentations and outreach
materials.
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 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 1st day of April 2015.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-07798 Filed 4-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P