[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 232 (Wednesday, December 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77462-77463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26572]


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

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Revision of 
Information Collection; Survey of Household Use of Banking and 
Financial Services; Comment Request (3064-NEW)

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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

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 seventh biennial survey of households, 
which has been renamed the Survey of Household Use of Banking and 
Financial Services ``Household Survey''). This survey was previously 
named the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households 
and was assigned OMB Control No. 3064-0167. FDIC is seeking a new OMB 
Control Number for this version of the survey. The 2021 Household 
Survey is scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census 
Bureau as a supplement to its June 2021 Current Population Survey 
(CPS). The survey collects information on U.S. households' use of bank 
accounts, other transaction accounts including prepaid cards and online 
payment services, nonbank financial transaction services, and bank and 
nonbank credit. The results of these biennial surveys will be published 
in the FDIC's How America Banks reports which help inform policymakers, 
bankers, and researchers about how households use, or don't use, the 
banking system.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 1, 2021.

[[Page 77463]]


ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
the FDIC by any of the following methods:
     Agency website: https://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, Regulatory Counsel, MB-3128, 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 building (located on F Street), 
on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
    All comments should refer to ``Household Survey''. 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, Regulatory Counsel, 202-
898-3767, [email protected], MB-3128, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC is requesting OMB approval for the 
following collection of information:
    Title: Survey of Household Use of Banking and Financial Services.
    OMB Number: 3064-NEW.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: Individuals residing in U.S. Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40,000.
    Average time per response: 9 minutes (0.15 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 6,000 hours.
    General Description of Collection: The Survey of Household Use of 
Banking and Financial Services (Household Survey) supports the FDIC's 
mission of maintaining public confidence in the U.S. financial system. 
The Household Survey is also a key component of the FDIC's compliance 
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 collects information on bank account ownership 
which provides a factual basis for measuring the number and percentage 
of households that are unbanked. The Household Survey is the only 
population-representative survey conducted at the national level that 
provides state-level estimates of the size and characteristics of 
unbanked households for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The 
Household Survey also collects information from unbanked households 
about the reasons that they do not have a bank account and their 
interest in having a bank account. Increasingly, financial products and 
services are provided by nonbanks, many through the use of a mobile 
phone app. Households are selecting different combinations of bank and 
nonbank financial products and services to meet their core banking 
needs. Consequently, the Household Survey has broadened its focus to 
include a wide range of bank and nonbank financial products and 
services and to collect information on whether and how households are 
using these in combination.
    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 seventh Household Survey as a supplement to the June 
2021 CPS.
    Prior to finalizing the 2021 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/2020/2021-survey-of-household-use-of-banking-and-financial-services.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.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    Dated at Washington, DC, on November 27, 2020.
James P. Sheesley,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-26572 Filed 12-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P