[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 59 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14983-14984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7286]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
SUMMARY: Background. On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control numbers 
to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 
Appendix A.1. Board-approved collections of information are 
incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved 
collections of information. Copies of the OMB 83-Is and supporting 
statements and approved collection of information instruments are 
placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not 
conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, 
an information collection that has been extended, revised, or 
implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

Request for comment on information collection proposal.

    The following information collection, which is being handled under 
this delegated authority, has received initial Board approval and is 
hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the 
proposed information collection, along with an analysis of comments and 
recommendations received, will be submitted to the Board for final 
approval under OMB delegated authority. Comments are invited on the 
following:
    a. whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    b. the accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    d. ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 27, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson, 
Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20551. However, 
because paper mail in the Washington area and at the Board of Governors 
is subject to delay, please consider submitting your comments by e-mail 
to [email protected], or faxing them to the Office of 
the Secretary at 202-452-3819 or 202-452-3102. Comments addressed to 
Ms. Johnson may also be delivered to the Board's mail facility in the 
West Courtyard between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., located on 21st Street 
between Constitution Avenue and C Street, NW. Members of the public may 
inspect comments in Room MP-500 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays 
pursuant to 261.12, except as provided in 261.14, of the Board's Rules 
Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.12 and 261.14.
    A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk 
officer for the Board: Alexander T. Hunt, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, DC 20503.

[[Page 14984]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the proposed form and 
instructions, the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission (OMB 83-I), 
supporting statement, and other documents that will be placed into 
OMB's public docket files once approved may be requested from the 
agency clearance officer, whose name appears below. Cindy Ayouch, 
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer (202-452-3829), Division of 
Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 
(TDD) users may contact (202-263-4869), Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority to conduct the 
following survey:

    Report title: 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances
    Agency form number: FR 3059
    OMB Number: 7100-0287
    Frequency: One-time survey
    Reporters: U.S. families
    Annual reporting hours: 7,500 hours
    Estimated average hours per response: Pretest and survey, 75 
minutes each
    Number of respondents: Pretest, 400 families; survey, 5,600 
families
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary. The Federal Reserve's statutory basis for collecting this 
information is section 2A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. Sec.  
225a); the Bank Merger Act (12 U.S.C. Sec.  1828(c)); and sections 3 
and 4 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  1842 and 
1843) and 12 U.S.C. Sec.  353 and 461. The names and other 
characteristics that would permit identification of respondents are 
deemed confidential by the Board and are exempt from disclosure 
pursuant to exemption 6 in the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 
Sec.  552(b)(6)).
    Abstract: For many years, the Board has sponsored consumer surveys 
to obtain information on the financial behavior of households. The 2004 
Survey of Consumer Finance (SCF) will be the latest in a triennial 
series, which began in 1983, that provides comprehensive data for U.S. 
families on the distribution of assets and debts, along with related 
information and other data items necessary for analyzing behavior. 
These are the only surveys conducted in the United States that provide 
such financial data for a representative sample of households. Data for 
the SCF are collected by interviewers using a computer program. While 
some questions may be deleted and others modified, only minimal changes 
will be made to the questionnaire in order to preserve the time series 
properties of the data. The pretest will be conducted during 2003 and 
survey would be conducted between May and December 2004.
    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March 21, 2003.

Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 03-7286 Filed 3-26-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-S