[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 97 (Monday, May 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28824-28825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11072]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Information 
Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on a proposed new collection of information, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). 
The collection is related to a mandate under 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.'' To satisfy the 
Congressional mandate, the FDIC intends to conduct two complementary 
surveys. One is a survey of FDIC-insured depository institutions 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). The FDIC has already obtained OMB approval for this survey 
and the survey effort is currently in process. The other is a survey of 
U.S. households to estimate the size and worth of the unbanked and 
underbanked markets and to identify the factors that inhibit their 
participation in the mainstream banking system. The household survey 
would be conducted for the FDIC by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as a 
supplement to its monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) in January 
2009. This notice addresses the household survey.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 18, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by 
any of the following methods. All comments should refer to ``National 
Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey'':
     http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
     E-mail: [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 a.m. and 5 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

[[Page 28825]]

Underbanked Household Survey on the following Web page: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/index.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 proposes to establish the following 
collection of information:
    Title: National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey.
    OMB Number: New collection.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: U.S. households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 54,000.
    Average Time per Response: 10 minutes (0.166 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.166 hours x54,000 respondents = 
8,964 hours.

General Description of Collection

    This collection is related to a mandate under 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.'' The Congressional mandate further requires the FDIC 
to conduct ongoing surveys to, among other things, estimate the size 
and worth of the unbanked market in the United States and to identify 
the cultural, language and identification issues as well as transaction 
costs that appear to most prevent unbanked individuals from 
establishing accounts with insured depository institutions. To satisfy 
the Congressional mandate, the FDIC has proposed conducting two 
complementary surveys related to unbanked and underbanked consumers 
(underbanked consumers include individuals who have an account with an 
insured depository institution, but also rely on non-bank alternative 
financial service providers for transaction services or high-cost 
credit products). The first survey effort, which has already obtained 
OMB approval and is currently underway, is a survey of FDIC-insured 
depository institutions on their efforts to serve unbanked and 
underbanked consumers.
    The second survey effort, which is the subject of this notice, 
would be a national survey of U.S. households to estimate the size and 
worth of the unbanked and underbanked markets and to identify the 
barriers households perceive when deciding how and where to conduct 
financial transactions.
    To obtain the information required by the Reform Act related to 
unbanked and underbanked households, for this survey effort the FDIC 
proposes to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct a survey of 
U.S. households as a supplement to Census' CPS in January 2009. The 
supplement would be administered to households that participate in the 
CPS and would be 10 minutes in length, on average.
    The FDIC supplement to the Census survey is designed to yield 
significant new data on the numbers and demographic characteristics of 
unbanked and underbanked households, as well as the barriers they 
perceive when deciding how and where to conduct financial transactions. 
Currently, there is a lack of basic data on the number of unbanked and 
underbanked households in the U.S. and on the factors that may promote 
or hinder access to the mainstream financial system . This will be the 
first survey of its kind on this topic to be conducted at the national 
level and results will also be reportable at the state level. The 
results will help policymakers and the industry better understand the 
extent to which U.S. households are financially underserved, the 
reasons why U.S. households may be financially underserved, and the 
opportunities that exist to better serve them.

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 proposed information collection should be modified prior to 
submission to OMB for review and approval. After the comment period 
closes, comments will be summarized 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 13th day of May, 2008.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-11072 Filed 5-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P