[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63798-63799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25559]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on 
proposed information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. The Bureau is soliciting comments concerning its 
proposed information collection titled, ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on the Service Delivery of the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.'' The proposed collection has 
been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. A copy of the submission may be obtained by contacting 
the agency contact listed below.

DATES: Written comments are encouraged and must be received on or 
before November 16, 2012 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by agency name and the 
title, ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau'' 
to:
     Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: 
PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552; (202) 435-9011; 
and [email protected].
     OMB: Shagufta Ahmed, Office of Management and Budget, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503; (202) 395-
7873.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: 
PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552, (202) 435-9011, 
or through the internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
    OMB Control Number: 3170-XXXX.
    Summary: As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline 
the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the 
Bureau has submitted a Generic Information Collection Request: 
``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on the 
Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau'' to OMB 
for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501, 
et seq.).
    Type of Review: New Generic.
    Abstract: The proposed information collection activity would garner 
qualitative feedback from consumers, financial institutions, and 
stakeholders on a wide range of services the Bureau provides in an 
efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Bureau's commitment to 
improving service delivery. By qualitative feedback, the Bureau means 
information that provides useful insights on, for example, 
comprehension, usability, perceptions, and opinions, but are not 
statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be 
generalized to the population of study. The Bureau expects this 
feedback to include insights into consumer, financial institution, or 
stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations, provide an 
early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where 
communication, training or changes in operations might improve delivery 
of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, 
collaborative, and actionable communications between the Bureau and 
consumers, financial institutions, and stakeholders. It will also allow 
feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program 
management.
    The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. 
Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or 
maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this 
information is not collected, vital feedback from consumers, financial 
institutions, and stakeholders on the Bureau's services will be 
unavailable.
    The Bureau will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary;
     The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government;
     The collections are non-controversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
     Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have 
experience with the program in the near future;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;

[[Page 63799]]

     Information gathered is intended to be used only 
internally for general service improvement and program management 
purposes and is not intended for release outside of the Bureau (if 
released, the Bureau must indicate the qualitative nature of the 
information);
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the 
population of study.

Feedback collected under this generic clearance would provide useful 
information, but it would not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any 
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding 
the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely 
to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for 
other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative 
results.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households; Businesses, 
Organizations, and other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions; and 
State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 25.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,000.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 1 Hour per Response.
    Frequency of Response: 1 per Year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 250,000.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not 
required to respond to, an information collection unless the 
information collection displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The Bureau issued a 60-day Federal Register notice on August 7, 
2012 77 FR 47045). Comments were solicited and continue to be invited 
on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Bureau, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
Bureau's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, 
including the validity of the methodology and the 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 the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Dated: October 10, 2012.
Chris Willey,
Chief Information Officer, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2012-25559 Filed 10-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P