[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16854-16856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06282]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request Re National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 
Households

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on the revised survey collection instrument 
for its third National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households 
(``Household Survey''), currently approved under OMB Control No. 3064-
0167, scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census 
Bureau as a supplement to its June 2013 Current Population Survey 
(``CPS''). The collection is a key component of the FDIC's efforts to 
comply with a Congressional mandate contained in 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.'' The 
Household Survey is designed to address these factors and provide a 
factual basis on the proportions of unbanked households. Such a factual 
basis is necessary to adequately assess banks' efforts to serve these 
households as required by the statutory mandate.
    To satisfy the Congressional mandate, the FDIC designed two 
complementary surveys: a survey of FDIC-insured depository institutions 
and a survey of households. The survey of FDIC-insured depository 
institutions, aimed at collecting data 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), was conducted in 
mid-2007 and again in 2011. The results of the 2007 survey were 
released in February 2008 and the results of the 2011 survey were 
released in December 2012. The first survey of unbanked and underbanked 
households was conducted in January 2009 as a CPS supplement and the 
results were released to the public in December 2009. The second survey 
of unbanked and underbanked households was conducted in June 2011 and 
the results were released to the public in September 2012. The 
Household Survey seeks to estimate the proportions of unbanked and 
underbanked households in the U.S. and to identify the factors that 
inhibit the participation of these households in the mainstream banking 
system. The results of these ongoing surveys will help policymakers and 
bankers understand the issues and challenges underserved households 
perceive when deciding how and where to conduct financial transactions. 
This notice addresses the next Household Survey.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by 
any of the following methods. All comments should refer to ``National 
Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households'':
     http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
     Email: [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 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 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 Underbanked Household Survey on the 
following Web page: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/notices.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 is requesting OMB approval to 
revise the following collection of information:
    Title: National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey.
    OMB Number: 3064-0167.

[[Page 16855]]

    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: U.S. Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,000.
    Average Time per Response: 12 minutes (0.2 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.2 hours x 45,000 respondents = 
9,000 hours.

General Description of Collection

    A mandate in section 7 of the Reform Act requires the FDIC to 
conduct ongoing surveys on efforts by banks to bring unbanked 
individuals and families into the conventional finance system. Section 
7 further instructs the FDIC to consider several factors in its conduct 
of the surveys, including the size of the unbanked market in the United 
States and the cultural, language and identification issues as well as 
transaction costs that appear to most prevent unbanked individuals from 
establishing conventional accounts. To obtain this information, the 
FDIC partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau, which administered the 
Household Survey supplement (``FDIC Supplement') to households that 
participated in the January 2009 and June 2011 CPS. The FDIC supplement 
has yielded significant data on the extent and demographic 
characteristics of the population that is unbanked or underbanked, the 
use by this population of alternative financial services, and the 
reasons why some households do not make greater use of traditional 
banking services. The Household Survey was the first survey of its kind 
to be conducted at the national level. An executive summary of the 
results of the first and second Household Surveys, the full reports, 
and the survey instruments can be accessed through the following link: 
http://www.economicinclusion.gov/surveys/.
    Consistent with the statutory mandate to conduct the surveys on an 
ongoing basis, the FDIC already has in place arrangements for conduct 
of its third Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2013 CPS. 
However, prior to finalizing the next survey instrument, the FDIC 
sought public comment on whether changes to the existing instrument 
were desirable and, if so, to what extent. It should be noted that, as 
a supplement of the CPS survey, the Household Survey needs to adhere to 
specific parameters that include limits in the length and sensitivity 
of the questions that can be asked of CPS respondents. Specifically, 
there is a strict limitation on the number of questions permitted and 
the average time required to complete the survey (12 minutes on 
average).

Comment Discussion

    On October 19, 2012 (77 FR 64337), the FDIC issued a request for 
comment on possible revisions to the 2013 Household Survey. The FDIC 
received five comments related to this survey effort. All commenters 
were supportive of efforts to bring unbanked and underbanked households 
into the financial mainstream.
    One commenter suggested that the FDIC drill down further on the 
reasons for not using conventional/traditional financial institutions 
and suggested that income, judgments, liens, felony convictions, and 
``choice'' (i.e., personal preference) are possible reasons for being 
unbanked. The FDIC continues to revise the survey instrument to better 
capture the full range of reasons why households do not have bank 
accounts. Answer options for this question have been clarified and 
streamlined. The 2013 survey adds an answer option that intends to 
capture households that feel that not having a bank account provides 
more privacy for personal finances. And, the 2013 survey asks 
households to select all applicable reasons for not having an account, 
but also indicate the most important reason, which will allow us to 
capture a more complete set of reasons.
    Several comments related to the need to better understand 
households' use of prepaid cards, including the cards' cost structures, 
and the use of direct deposit in conjunction with prepaid cards. One 
commenter further suggested that the FDIC consider an alternative 
unbanked definition that excludes households that regularly use prepaid 
cards. The FDIC agrees that the use of prepaid cards is relatively 
high, and increasing, among unbanked and underbanked households. In 
response, the revised Household Survey asks a number of new questions 
about prepaid cards that seek to capture the timing of households' 
prepaid card use, the reasons for using these cards, where they are 
purchased, and how they are accessed and loaded.
    One commenter mentioned the need to better understand households' 
financial decision-making, especially related to the choice between 
financial services or products such as: direct deposit vs. check-
cashing, prepaid card vs. bank account. The FDIC agrees that this is an 
area of interest, but capturing this information would require more 
substantial revisions to survey than we are able to accommodate given 
the timeframe for the 2013 survey. This comment will be considered in 
future survey efforts.
    Another suggestion referred to gaining further detail on the 
competitive advantages and disadvantages of financial service 
providers. The 2013 Household survey includes questions about what 
methods households use to access bank accounts, as well as locations 
used to access alternative financial services. This information should 
provide additional information regarding consumer preferences for 
accessing financial services.
    One commenter requested that financial education questions be added 
to the survey. The FDIC recognizes the value of assessing financial 
education levels in conjunction with the use of financial services and 
products. However, financial education is difficult to measure at the 
household level. A good financial education assessment requires 
including a set of questions that test the respondents' financial 
capability, which might or might not be representative of that of the 
household.
    Another commenter requested that the survey provide results for 
smaller demographic groups, and allow for more cross tabulations of 
data, and suggested having the Household Survey be a part of the 
American Community Survey (ACS) as opposed to the CPS. The FDIC 
recognizes the value of having questions regarding banking status 
administered as part of the ACS, as the ACS's large sample size would 
allow for analysis at smaller demographic and geographic levels. The 
FDIC may investigate proposing new ACS content through the content 
change process managed by OMB and the Census Bureau. However, the 
current data collection, as part of the CPS, does allow for many 
meaningful analyses of demographic groups. In many cases, individual 
users can use the public use dataset from the Census Bureau to perform 
a wide variety of demographic analyses, including some that may be more 
detailed than the FDIC published in its own reports on the Household 
Survey.
    The FDIC also received a suggestion regarding the implementation of 
the survey. The commenter suggested that an in-person survey would 
facilitate data collection. The Household Survey is a supplement to the 
Census Bureau's Current Population Survey which is predominantly an in-
person survey.

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

[[Page 16856]]

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 information collection should be modified prior to submission 
to OMB for review and approval. After the comment period closes, 
comments will be summarized and/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 14th day of March, 2013.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-06282 Filed 3-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P