[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28105-28107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11060]


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

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

[[Page 28106]]


ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, 
the Census of Finance Companies and Survey of Finance Companies (FR 
3033p and FR 3033s; OMB No. 7100-0277).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 3033p or FR 3033s, 
by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as 
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove 
personally identifiable information at the commenter's request. 
Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or 
contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically 
or in paper in Room 146, 1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the 
Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. 
You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be 
required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to 
submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy 
comments.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 
452-3829.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In 
exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take 
every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to 
approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all 
comments received from the public and other agencies.
    A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, 
including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, 
and other documentation will be available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, if approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears above.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, With 
Revision, the Following Information Collections

    Report title: Census of Finance Companies and Other Lenders.
    Agency form number: FR 3033p.
    OMB control number: 7100-0277.
    Frequency: Quinquennially.
    Respondents: Finance companies.
    Estimated number of respondents: 12,800.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.33.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 4,224.
    General description of report: The FR 3033p is a census survey 
designed to identify the universe of finance companies eligible for 
potential inclusion in the FR 3033s and to enable the stratification of 
the sample for more statistically efficient estimation. The FR 3033p is 
currently composed of 7 questions to assess the company's asset size, 
level of loan and lease activity, company structure, and licensing 
authority.
    Report title: Survey of Finance Companies.
    Agency form number: FR 3033s.
    OMB control number: 7100-0277.
    Frequency: Quinquennially.
    Respondents: Finance companies.
    Estimated number of respondents: 900.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 900.
    General description of report: From the universe of finance 
companies identified by the Census of Finance Companies and Other 
Lenders (FR 3033p), a sample of finance companies will be invited to 
fill out FR 3033s. From these finance companies, the FR 3033s survey 
collects balance sheet data on major categories of consumer and 
business credit receivables and major liabilities. In addition, the 
survey may be used to gather information on topics that are pertinent 
to increasing the Federal Reserve's understanding of the finance 
companies.
    Proposed revisions: Board staff proposes to revise the FR 3033s to 
improve clarity, simplify the form overall, and collect additional 
information on the COVID-19 impacts on lending activities. The Board is 
not proposing any revisions to the FR 3033p at this time. The FR 3033s 
revisions, which would be effective for the proposed September 2021 
survey date, include:

A. Removals

     Removing the off-balance-sheet securitizations column on 
the balance sheet, which encompasses 20 items.
     Removing question 7.C (non-recourse debt associated with 
financing activities).
     Removing questions 12.A-12.D, as they were special topic 
questions added for the 2015 survey.

[[Page 28107]]

     Removing the question soliciting comments or explanations 
from the respondents.

B. Revisions

     Revising general survey instructions and item descriptions 
for clarity.
     Revising the benchmark date to June 30, 2021.
     Renumbering items 7.E-7.G to items 7.D-7.F.
     Revising question 7.D to ``Notes, Bonds, Debentures, and 
Other Debt'' and renumbering it to 7.C. This is to be consistent with 
the information collected on the FR 2248.
     Revising question 11.B to ``Total number of accounts for 
domestic business and real estate receivables.''

C. Additions

     Adding an item for ``Student Loans'' in section 3.B. as 
question 3.B.3 and renumbering ``Other Consumer Loans'' as question 
3.B.4. This is to closer align the information collected on the FR 
3033s with the FR 2248.
     Adding a Question 12 to collect detailed information on 
types of consumer credit that finance companies offer. This question is 
useful to assess the extent of offerings of consumer credit products by 
the finance company industry. This also makes it feasible to identify 
specialty finance companies and facilitate analysis of profitability at 
such companies.
     Adding a Question 13 with 3 sub-items to collect lending 
information related to the COVID-19 impacts. Given that the Survey of 
Finance Companies and Other Lenders falls during the time in which the 
United States economy has been impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 
pandemic, it is useful to collect lending information related to this 
unforeseen event. The need for economic relief has been at the 
forefront of this pandemic. Many financial firms have already been 
approved to participate in the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) 
to lend to small businesses in need and have been doing so. 
Additionally, some of these firms are actively advertising their 
lending relief options to the public. There may be value in assessing 
any COVID-19 relief lending by these firms.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 3033p and FR 3033s 
are authorized pursuant to sections 2A and 12A of the Federal Reserve 
Act (FRA). Section 2A of the FRA requires that the Board and the 
Federal Open Market Committee maintain long-run growth of the monetary 
and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run 
potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the 
goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term 
interest rates.\1\ Under section 12A of the FRA, the Federal Open 
Market Committee is required to implement regulations relating to the 
open market operations conducted by Federal Reserve Banks with a view 
to accommodating commerce and business and with regard to their bearing 
upon the general credit situation of the country.\2\ Information 
collected from the FR 3033p and FR 3033s is used to fulfill these 
obligations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 225a.
    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 263.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FR 3033p and FR 3033s are voluntary. The information collected 
pursuant to the FR 3033p and FR 3033s is confidential pursuant to 
exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act,\3\ which protects 
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by 
the respondent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 20, 2021.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-11060 Filed 5-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P