[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 218 (Monday, November 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68155-68156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24642]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Revision of 
Information Collection; FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and 
Underbanked Households; Comment Request (3064-0215)

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 eighth biennial survey of households, 
which has been renamed the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and 
Underbanked Households (Household Survey). This survey was previously 
named the Survey of Household Use of Banking and Financial Services and 
is assigned OMB Control No. 3064-0215. The 2023 Household Survey is 
scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau as 
a supplement to its June 2023 Current Population Survey (CPS). The 
survey collects information on U.S. households' use of bank accounts, 
prepaid cards, nonbank online payment services and other nonbank 
financial transaction services, and bank and nonbank credit. The 
results of these biennial surveys will be published by the FDIC, and 
help inform policymakers, bankers, and researchers about bank account 
ownership and household use of the banking system and nonbank financial 
products and services to meet their financial needs.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
the FDIC by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the name and number of 
the collection in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Manny Cabeza (202-898-3767), 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 NW building (located on F Street 
NW) on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

[[Page 68156]]

    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: FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.
    OMB Number: 3064-0215.
    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 FDIC is committed to 
expanding Americans' access to safe, secure, and affordable banking 
services, which is integral to the FDIC's mission of maintaining the 
stability of and public confidence in the U.S. financial system. The 
FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households (Household 
Survey) is one contribution to this end. 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 financial 
needs. Consequently, the Household Survey collects information on 
whether and how households use a wide range of bank and nonbank 
financial products and 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 Current Population 
Survey (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://fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey.
    Consistent with the statutory mandate to conduct the surveys on an 
ongoing basis, the FDIC already has in place arrangements for 
conducting the eighth Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2023 
CPS. Prior to finalizing the 2023 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/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/2023/2023-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.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    Dated at Washington, DC, on November 7, 2022.
James P. Sheesley,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-24642 Filed 11-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P