[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13397-13398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3741]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 15, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 1380, by any of 
the following methods:
     Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include docket 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 202/452-3819 or 202/452-3102.
     Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as 
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your 
comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact 
information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in 
paper in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C 
Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of 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.
    Michelle Long, 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.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The following information collections, which are being handled 
under this delegated authority, have received initial Board approval 
and are hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, 
the proposed information collections, 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 collections 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 collections, 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.

Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Implementation of 
the Following Collection of Information

    Report title: Studies to Develop and Test Consumer Regulatory 
Disclosures.
    Agency form number: FR 1380.
    OMB control number: 7100--to be assigned.
    Frequency: Consumer surveys: Qualitative testing, 4; Quantitative 
testing, 4; Institution surveys: Quantitative testing, 5.
    Reporters: Consumers and financial institutions that engage in 
consumer lending and provide other financial products.
    Estimated annual reporting hours: 25,434 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: Consumer surveys: qualitative 
testing, 1.5 hours; quantitative testing, .33 hours; Institution 
surveys: quantitative testing, 15 hours.
    Estimated number of respondents: Consumer surveys: qualitative 
testing, 225; quantitative testing, 1,200; Institution surveys: 
quantitative testing, 300.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
authorized pursuant to the: Home Mortgage Section 806 (12 U.S.C. 
2804(a)); Community Reinvestment Act, Section 806 (12 U.S.C. 2905); 
Competitive Equality Banking Act, Section 1204 (12 U.S.C. 3806) 
(adjustable rate mortgage caps); Expedited Funds Availability Act, 
Section 609 (12 U.S.C. 4008); Truth in Saving Act, Section 269 (12 
U.S.C. 4308); Federal Trade Commission Act, Section 18(f) (15 U.S.C. 
57a(f)); Truth in Lending Act, Section 105 (15 U.S.C. 1604); Fair 
Credit Reporting Act, Section 621 (15 U.S.C. 1681s(e)); Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act, Section 703 (15 U.S.C. 1691b(a)); Electronic Funds 
Transfer Act, Section 904 (15 U.S.C. 1693b) and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 
Section 504 (15 U.S.C. 6804). Respondent participation in the survey is 
voluntary. If the Federal Reserve

[[Page 13398]]

contracts with an outside firm, no issue of confidentiality would arise 
because names and any other characteristics that would permit personal 
identification of respondents would not be reported to the Federal 
Reserve Board. However, if there is no contractual agreement between 
the Federal Reserve and the outside firm regarding the reporting of 
respondent identifying data, or if the Federal Reserve conducts the 
survey itself, then the information would likely be considered an 
agency record subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 
Nevertheless, confidential treatment for consumer identifying data 
would be warranted under subsection (b)(6) of the FOIA. The 
confidentiality of the information obtained from financial institutions 
will be determined on a case-by-case basis when the specific questions 
to be asked on each particular survey are formulated, but before 
respondents are contacted. Depending upon the survey questions, 
confidential treatment could be warranted under subsection (b)(4) of 
the FOIA. 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and (6).
    Abstract: Congress has assigned the Federal Reserve Board the duty 
of implementing a number of federal laws intended to protect consumers 
in credit and other financial transactions and to ensure that consumers 
receive comprehensive information and fair treatment. The Federal 
Reserve is responsible for drafting regulations and interpretations to 
carry out the purposes of these consumer protection laws.
    The Federal Reserve seeks to develop and implement regulatory 
policies based on information garnered from both consumers and industry 
entities that would enable consumers to make better financial decisions 
based on sound information and a clear understanding of how to use that 
information to meet their personal needs. Accordingly, the Federal 
Reserve periodically surveys consumers and financial institutions to 
identify key issues and review and evaluate consumer disclosures for 
effectiveness. Direct information about consumer knowledge and use of 
disclosure statements would best be obtained through studies of 
individuals and financial institutions that engage in consumer lending 
and provide other financial products.
    In order to better understand consumer attitudes and knowledge of 
the Federal Reserve's consumer regulations and to make disclosure 
statements more comprehensible and usable, the Federal Reserve proposes 
to conduct studies of consumers and financial institutions. These 
studies could take the format of focus group discussions, face-to-face 
interviews, telephone interviews, mall intercept testing, written 
questionnaires (paper or Web based), or controlled experiments. The 
size of consumer focus groups would vary depending on the topics being 
discussed and the format of the sessions. Experience has shown that 
focused discussions of not more than twelve to fifteen participants are 
most productive.
    Written surveys or questionnaires could include categorical 
questions, yes-no questions, ordinal scale (such as Likert scale) or 
ranking scale questions (which ascertain respondent's views on the 
degree to which something fits a particular criterion; for example, on 
a scale of 1, ``strongly agree'' to 5, ``strongly disagree''), and 
open-ended questions.
    The studies could be conducted through a private firm, which would 
be chosen in a competitive bidding process.\1\ The research instruments 
could be developed by the Federal Reserve alone or jointly with the 
firm selected by the Federal Reserve. The firm would be responsible for 
following the sampling protocol established by the Federal Reserve, 
conducting the study, preparing a data file containing the responses, 
computing analysis weights, and documenting all study procedures. Data 
editing and analysis of survey results would be conducted solely by the 
Federal Reserve or jointly with the firm.
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    \1\ Some survey firms used by the Federal Reserve to conduct 
past surveys include the University of Michigan's Survey Research 
Center (SRC), NORC (a social science and survey research 
organization at the University of Chicago), and the Research 
Triangle Institute in Charlotte, NC.
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    In the subject areas covered by the studies, much of the 
information needs to be obtained via surveys of consumers, either 
because (1) personal attitudes, opinions or evidence of understanding 
are sought, or (2) the desired information is not compiled by financial 
institutions, or the information is compiled and is proprietary. In 
addition, the studies could survey financial institutions to obtain 
information about their consumer product offerings and disclosure and 
marketing practices with respect to those products.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March 10, 
2006.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
 [FR Doc. E6-3741 Filed 3-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P