[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55532-55533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24228]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Revision of 
Information Collection; National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 
Households; Comment Request (3064-0167)

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its obligations under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the survey 
collection instrument for its sixth 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 2019 Current 
Population Survey (CPS). The survey seeks to measure and track economic 
inclusion among U.S. households, and to identify the factors that 
inhibit the participation of these households in the mainstream banking 
system and opportunities to expand the use of banking services among 
underserved consumers. 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 7, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
the FDIC by any of the following methods:
     http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/notices.html.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the name and number of 
the collection in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Manny Cabeza (202-898-3767), Counsel, MB-3007, 
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 17th Street NW, building (located on F 
Street), on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
    All comments should refer to OMB control number 3064-0167. A copy 
of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk officer for the 
FDIC: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Manny Cabeza, Counsel, (202) 898-3767, 
[email protected], MB-3007, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 
17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC is considering possible revisions 
to the following collection of information:
    Title: National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.
    OMB Number: 3064-0167.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: U.S. Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40,000.
    Average time per response: 9 minutes (0.15 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.15 hours x 40,000 respondents = 
6,000 hours.
    General Description of Collection: The FDIC recognizes that public 
confidence in the banking system is strengthened when banks effectively 
serve the broadest possible set of consumers. As a result, the agency 
is committed to increasing economic inclusion in the financial 
mainstream by ensuring that all Americans have access to safe, secure, 
and affordable banking services. The National Survey of Unbanked and 
Underbanked Households is one contribution to this end.
    The National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households is also 
a key

[[Page 55533]]

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 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 
Households 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. The National Survey of 
Unbanked and Underbanked Households is the only population-
representative survey conducted at the national level that provides 
state-level estimates of the size and characteristics of unbanked and 
underbanked households for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
    The FDIC supplement collects nationally-representative data, not 
otherwise available, to measure and track economic inclusion, and 
assess the accessibility and sustainability of banking relationships. 
The survey identifies different banking status groups, including 
unbanked and underbanked consumers. In identifying underbanked 
consumers, the FDIC considers households that have bank accounts but 
also substantially rely on nonbank financial services to meet basic 
financial needs such as receiving income, paying bills, saving and 
storing money, and accessing basic consumer credit. There is an 
emphasis on services that are disproportionately relied on by the 
unbanked, and are provided by a company or firm, as opposed to those 
accessed informally through individuals. The survey captures the use of 
a range of bank and nonbank products, and other data to help assess the 
reasons why some households do not make greater use of mainstream 
banking services.
    To obtain this information, the FDIC partners with the U.S. Census 
Bureau, which administers the Household Survey supplement (``FDIC 
Supplement') to households that participate in the CPS. The supplement 
has been administered every other year since January 2009. The previous 
survey questionnaires and survey results 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 
conducting the sixth Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2019 
CPS.
    However, prior to finalizing the next survey questionnaire, the 
FDIC seeks to solicit public comment on whether changes to the existing 
instrument are 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. 
Interested members of the public may obtain a copy of the proposed 
survey questionnaire on the following web page: https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2018/2019-draft-household-survey-questionnaire.pdf

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 collections, 
including the validity of the methodology and 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. All 
comments will become a matter of public record.

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

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-24228 Filed 11-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6714-01-P