[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50369-50370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21704]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

RIN 3064-ZA02


Request for Information on FDIC Communication and Transparency

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: The FDIC is seeking comments and information from interested 
parties on the FDIC's communication methods and related initiatives to 
promote efficiency and increase transparency.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 4, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 3064-ZA02, by any 
of the following methods:
     Agency website: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Agency 
website.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the RIN 3064-ZA02 in the 
subject line of the message.
     Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Attention: 
Comments, 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 NW building (located on F 
Street) on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
    Public Inspection: All comments received must include the agency 
name and RIN for this rulemaking. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/--
including any personal information provided--for public inspection. 
Paper copies of public comments may be ordered from the FDIC Public 
Information Center, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, 
VA 22226 by telephone at (877) 275-3342 or (703) 562-2200.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya Otsuka, Counsel, (202) 898-6816, 
FDIC.gov">taotsuka@FDIC.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC is responsible for maintaining 
stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system by 
insuring deposits, examining and supervising financial institutions for 
safety and soundness and consumer protection, making large and complex 
financial institutions resolvable, and managing receiverships. In order 
to accomplish this mission, the FDIC must be able to communicate 
efficiently and effectively with financial institutions. As described 
further below, the FDIC is soliciting comment on how to streamline and 
improve communication with insured depository institutions.

Overview of Request for Information

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (``FDIC'' or ``Agency'') 
is issuing this request for information to seek public input on how to 
make the FDIC's communication with insured depository institutions 
(IDIs) more effective, streamlined, and clear. While the FDIC's 
communication with financial institutions is essential to fulfill its 
statutory mandate, the FDIC recognizes that the amount of information 
the Agency provides to banks can create challenges for institutions. 
For example, staying current on relevant communications may be 
particularly difficult for community banks.
    Accordingly, the FDIC is soliciting comment on how to maximize 
efficiency and minimize burden associated with obtaining information on 
FDIC laws, regulations, policies, and other materials relevant to IDIs.

Current Forms of Communication

    The FDIC uses many forms of communication to inform IDIs about 
regulations, policies and guidance, industry data and educational 
materials, and other news and updates. Some forms of communication may 
be used to disseminate more than one type of information, and some 
materials may be distributed through multiple channels. These forms of 
communication include, but are not limited to:

Regulations, Policies, Procedures, and Guidance

 Federal Register: The FDIC publishes in the Federal Register 
proposed and final rules, requests for information, and other notices, 
including statements of policy and certain guidance or 
interpretations.\1\
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    \1\ The FDIC posts documents published in the Federal Register 
chronologically on the FDIC website. See https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
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 Unified Agenda: Twice each year through the Unified Agenda 
process, the FDIC makes available an agenda of regulations to inform 
the public of its regulatory actions and to enhance public 
participation in the rulemaking process.\2\ The agenda contains 
information about FDIC's current and projected rulemakings, existing 
regulations under review, and completed rulemakings.
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    \2\ Publication of the agenda is in accordance with the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. See 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
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 Financial Institution Letters (FILs): The FDIC uses FILs to 
distribute information to all or a subset of FDIC-insured institutions, 
which letters are also posted on the FDIC website in chronological 
order. FILs may announce new regulations and policies, new FDIC 
publications, and a variety of other matters of principal interest to 
those responsible for operating a bank or savings association.
 Statements of Policy: The FDIC may use statements of policy to 
advise the public prospectively of the manner in which the FDIC 
proposes to exercise its authorities or view certain matters under 
applicable law.
 Examination Manuals
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or Questions and Answers 
(Q&As)
 Memoranda
 Supervisory Guidance Documents, Statements, and Advisories
 FDIC Open Board Meetings

News and Updates

 Press Releases
 FDIC Consumer News
 Annual Reports
 Newsletters (e.g., Regional Newsletters, Money Smart News)
 Consumer Alerts
 Regulatory Calendar

[[Page 50370]]

Industry Data, Educational Materials, and Outreach

 Quarterly Banking Profile
 Studies (e.g., FDIC Community Banking Study)
 White Papers
 Surveys (e.g., National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 
Households)
 FDIC Videos, Webcasts, Webinars
 Roundtables
 Industry Conferences
 Advisory Committee Meetings
 Community Outreach Program/Listening Tours
 Industry Conference Calls
 Supervisory Insights
 FDIC Brochures
 Community Bank Resource Kit

General Communication

 FDIC.gov website \3\
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    \3\ https://www.fdic.gov.
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 Social Media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube)
 Email subscriptions
 RSS Feeds

Direct Communication

 Hotlines (e.g., 1-877-ASK-FDIC)
 Assistance forms (e.g., Business Assistance Form, Deposit 
Insurance Form, Interagency Appraisal Complaint Form, Potential 
Franchise Bidder Contact Form)
 Email Boxes (e.g., [email protected], [email protected], 
[email protected], [email protected])
 FDICconnect: The FDIC communicates directly with banks through 
FDICconnect, the secure internet channel for FDIC-insured institutions 
to conduct business and exchange information with the FDIC.
 Reports of Examination
 Letters
 Emails
 Telephone calls
 In-Person Meetings
 Compliance Reviews
 Assessment Quarterly Certified Statement Invoice packet

Suggested Topics for Commenters

    To reduce burden for institutions and others seeking information, 
both in terms of expending fewer resources to find relevant information 
and decreasing the amount of information that needs to be reviewed, the 
FDIC is seeking input on how best to streamline and improve 
communication with the industry. The FDIC encourages comments from all 
interested members of the public, including but not limited to insured 
depository institutions, other financial institutions or companies, 
individual depositors and consumers, consumer groups, and other members 
of the financial services industry. Please be as specific as possible 
to allow the FDIC to evaluate comments more effectively.
    In addition to general feedback on the FDIC's communication, 
transparency, and related initiatives described above, the FDIC also 
requests input on the following more specific topics and questions 
related to the FDIC's communication and transparency:

Efficiency

    1. How effective are the FDIC's current forms of communication, 
including those listed above? Which methods are the most effective? 
Which are the least effective? Are there other methods of communication 
the FDIC should consider?
    2. Is it clear to IDIs which communication is supervisory in nature 
and which is purely informational?
    3. Is the FDIC communicating through too many different forms and 
channels? Is the FDIC communicating too much information? Should some 
forms and channels of communication be eliminated?
    4. How can the FDIC better streamline and organize its 
communication with IDIs in order to distribute important information 
more efficiently?
    5. How appropriate is the timing and frequency of communication?

Ease of Access

    1. Is FDIC information readily available and easy to find? If not, 
how can the FDIC make it easier to receive and find information?
    2. How can the FDIC improve the FDIC.gov website? Does the website 
search function provide helpful and relevant results? What aspects of 
the FDIC.gov website are most helpful?
    3. Are there other forms of technology the FDIC should use to 
communicate with IDIs?
    4. What is the most effective way for the FDIC to organize or flag 
communications that are relevant to community banks?
    5. The FDIC provides an opportunity for institutions and their 
consumer compliance personnel to opt in to receive email alerts when 
the FDIC's Compliance Examination Manual (CEM) is updated or revised. 
Are there additional ways that the FDIC should consider communicating 
about CEM updates and revisions? Are there other areas or contexts 
where email alerts from the FDIC would be helpful?
    6. The FDIC engages in a variety of initiatives with institutions 
interested in acquiring failed institutions and assets, including 
outreach events that provide information on how the FDIC markets assets 
and how interested parties can bid on assets offered for sale, as well 
as asset purchaser workshops marketed extensively to minority- and 
women-owned investors and companies interested in learning about the 
process for failed bank asset sales. Are there additional ways that the 
FDIC should consider communicating with institutions interested in 
acquiring failed institutions and assets?

Content

    1. Which types of communication are best suited for informing IDIs 
about new policy initiatives, new laws and regulations, new guidance, 
new background or educational materials, news and other updates?
    2. The FDIC is looking at ways to improve the process for 
disseminating information through FILs. The FDIC staff has reviewed all 
outstanding FILs issued between 1995 and 2017 to determine which ones 
should be archived, which should be preserved, and whether any could be 
combined with others to streamline the information provided to the 
industry. The removal of certain outdated FILs will reduce the amount 
of information supervised institutions need to review and make it 
easier to update and streamline documents that communicate supervisory 
expectations to the industry going forward. Should FILs be organized 
chronologically, by topic, by applicable regulation, or by institution 
size? Are FILs preferable to other forms of communication? Should the 
FDIC distinguish FILs that communicate regulations and policy from FILs 
that may be merely informational?

    Dated at Washington, DC, on October 1, 2018.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-21704 Filed 10-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6714-01-P