[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32346-32347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8672]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
SUMMARY: Background.
    Notice is hereby given of the final approval of proposed 
information collections by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System under OMB delegated authority, as per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB 
Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). 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 instrument(s) 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer Michelle Long--Division of Research and Statistics, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202-452-
3829)
    OMB Desk Officer Mark Menchik--Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or email to 
[email protected]

Final approval 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: 7100-0312
    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. Sec.  
2804(a)); Community Reinvestment Act, Section 806 (12 U.S.C. Sec.  
2905); Competitive Equality Banking Act, Section 1204 (12 U.S.C. Sec.  
3806) (adjustable rate mortgage caps); Expedited Funds Availability 
Act, Section 609 (12 U.S.C. Sec.  4008); Truth in Saving Act, Section 
269 (12 U.S.C. Sec.  4308); Federal Trade Commission Act, Section 18(f) 
(15 U.S.C. Sec.  57a(f)); Truth in Lending Act, Section 105 (15 U.S.C. 
Sec.  1604); Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 621 (15 U.S.C. Sec.  
1681s(e)); Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Section 703 (15 U.S.C. Sec.  
1691b(a)); Electronic Funds Transfer Act, Section 904 (15 U.S.C. Sec.  
1693b) and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Section 504 (15 U.S.C. Sec.  6804). 
Respondent participation in the survey is voluntary. If the Federal 
Reserve 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 included in 
any reports submitted to the Federal Reserve. 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. Sec.  552(b)(4) and (6).
    Abstract: The Congress has assigned to the Federal Reserve 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

[[Page 32347]]

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 will 
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 will 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. 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.
    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.
    Current action: On March 15, 2006, the Federal Reserve published a 
notice soliciting comment on the proposal to implement FR 1380 (71 FR 
13397). The comment period ended on May 15, 2006. The Federal Reserve 
received two comment letters; however, the proposal is unchanged from 
the one the Board initially approved.
    The comment letters, from a banking trade association and a 
financial holding company, strongly support the Federal Reserve's 
proposal to conduct these studies to enable the use of consumer 
feedback to create more meaningful and useful disclosure statements. 
One of the commenters also suggested using a staged approach for 
conducting these studies. The suggested approach is substantially 
similar to the approach that will be employed by the Federal Reserve.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 31, 2006.
Jennifer J. Johnson
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E6-8672 Filed 6-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-S