[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 194 (Wednesday, October 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60678-60679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25507]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Information 
Collection; FDIC Small Business Lending Survey; 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 and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment 
on a proposed new collection of information, a Small Business Lending 
Survey of banks that is proposed to be fielded in May 2016.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 7, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by 
any of the following methods. All comments should reference ``FDIC 
Small Business Lending Survey'':
     http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the name of the 
collection in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Gary Kuiper (202.898.3877), 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 FDIC Small Business Lending on the following Web page: 
http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/. 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 Gary Kuiper at the address 
identified above, or by calling 202.898.3877.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The FDIC proposes to establish the following collection of 
information:
    Title: FDIC Small Business Lending Survey.
    OMB Number: New collection.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: FDIC-insured depository institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,000.

[[Page 60679]]

    Average time per response: 4 hours per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4 hours x 2,000 respondents = 8,000 
hours.

General Description of Collection

    Small businesses are an important component of the U.S. economy. 
According to the Small Business Administration, small firms accounted 
for almost half of private-sector employment and 63 percent of net new 
jobs between mid-1993 and 2013.\1\ Many small businesses have little or 
no direct access to capital markets and are thus reliant on bank 
financing. For banks, small business lending is an important way that 
they help meet their communities' needs, especially for the many banks 
that primarily focus on commercial rather than consumer lending.
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    \i\ https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_March_2014_0.pdf, accessed Sep 15, 2015.
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    Due to the importance of small businesses to the U.S. economy and 
the importance of bank lending to small businesses, the proposed FDIC 
Small Business Lending Survey, which surveys banks, will provide 
important data to complement existing sources of data on small business 
lending. The proposed survey data will not duplicate existing sources 
of data and will provide additional insight into many aspects of small 
business lending.
    The FDIC Small Business Lending Survey, proposed to begin data 
collection in May 2016, is designed to yield heretofore unavailable 
nationally-representative estimates on the volume and details of small 
business loans extended by FDIC-insured banks. In addition, the survey 
will provide new information on banks' perceived competition and market 
area for small business lending. The survey will yield nationally 
representative estimates of small business lending by banks of several 
different asset size categories and with different levels of urban or 
rural presence.
    In addition to the questions on small business lending, the new 
survey will include some questions related to consumer transaction 
accounts that are directly responsive to the mandate 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 of the Reform Act further instructs the 
FDIC to consider several factors in its conduct of the surveys, 
including: ``what cultural, language and identification issues as well 
as transaction costs appear to most prevent `unbanked' individuals from 
establishing conventional accounts''.
    The consumer account-focused questions are designed to provide a 
factual basis for examining identification issues and transaction costs 
related to establishing mainstream transaction accounts at banks. These 
consumer account-focused questions have been added to the Small 
Business Lending Survey in lieu of fielding a separate second survey to 
respond to the Congressional mandate. The consolidation of these 
efforts is expected to reduce the burden on banks relative to fielding 
two separate surveys.

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 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 2nd day of October, 2015.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-25507 Filed 10-6-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6714-01-P