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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14244-14245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06233]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, 
and Approvals

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other federal agencies to comment on proposed information 
collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public 
Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Community 
Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), Department of the 
Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning an evaluation of the CDFI 
Fund's Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before May 18, 2015 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Greg Bischak, Program Manager, 
Financial Strategies and Research, at the Community Development 
Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20020, by email to 
[email protected] or by facsimile to (202) 508-0089. Please note 
this is not a toll free number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Greg Bischak, Program Manager, Financial 
Strategies and Research, at the Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20020, by email to [email protected] 
or by facsimile to (202) 508-0089.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Evaluation of the Community Development Financial 
Institution Fund (CDFI Fund) Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program.
    OMB Number: 1559-NEW.
    Type of Review: Regular Review.
    Abstract: The BEA Program Evaluation is designed to support the 
CDFI Fund's overall mission to increase economic opportunity and 
provide community development investments in underserved populations 
and distressed communities within the United States. Specifically, the 
evaluation will assist the CDFI Fund in its assessment of a program 
administered to complement community development activities of insured 
depository institutions. The BEA Program provides financial assistance 
to FDIC-insured depository institutions for expanding investments in 
CDFIs, and increasing lending, investment, and service activities 
within economically distressed communities with at least 30 percent of 
residents having incomes less than the national poverty level, and at 
least 1.5 times the national unemployment rate.
    The program evaluation is designed to assess:
     The effectiveness of the BEA Program as a mechanism for 
providing performance-based awards;
     The influence of the BEA Program and BEA Program awards on 
bank behavior and investment patterns;
     The impact of the BEA Program awards on award recipients 
and distressed communities; and
     The impact of BEA Program-eligible investments in CDFIs 
and in distressed communities.
    The primary audience for the BEA Program evaluation will include 
key leadership from the population of approximately 156 FDIC-insured 
financial institutions that applied for BEA Program awards during 
calendar years 2012, 2013, or 2014. In addition, the evaluation 
audience will include a sample of CDFI Partners (CDFIs that were 
recipients of loans or investments from BEA Program applicants or 
awardees).
    An online survey will be administered to address the study 
objectives and related research questions. The survey instrument will 
be organized into the following major categories and related topics:
     Organizational Profile
    [cir] Assessment Area
    [cir] Service Area
    [cir] Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Asset Size (Used to 
Determine Bank Size)
    [cir] Number of Awards and Dollar Amount
    [cir] Activity Category
    [cir] Institution type (e.g., CDFI, Community Bank)
     Effectiveness of the BEA Program as a mechanism for 
providing performance based awards.
    [cir] Extent to which banks' decisions to apply for a BEA Program 
award was driven by economic or financial rewards (e.g., increase 
profitability, improve capital ratios, risk mitigation, etc.).
    [cir] Extent to which the Qualified Activities that formed the 
basis for the bank's application were driven by regulatory factors 
(e.g., CRA, CAMELS ratings, etc.).
    [cir] Degree to which the Qualified Activities that formed the 
basis for banks' applications needed support (e.g., financial 
assistance) from a BEA Program award.
     Influence of the BEA Program on Bank Behavior and 
Investment Patterns.
    [cir] Extent to which FDIC-insured financial institutions have 
provided loans, investments, or assistance to CDFI's in BEA qualified 
distressed communities during the assessment period.
    [cir] Types of support provided.
    [cir] Types of CDFIs most frequently receiving support from FDIC-
insured financial institutions (e.g., banks, loan funds, venture 
capital funds, or credit unions).
    [cir] Primary reason(s) why FDIC-insured financial institutions 
have provided loans, investments, or assistance to various types of 
CDFIs in BEA qualified distressed communities.
    [cir] Extent to which banks had provided financial products and/or 
services in the distressed community before the applicable assessment 
period.
    [cir] Level of effort, cost, and risk associated with carrying out 
the Qualified Activities that formed the basis for the bank's 
application (and variation by type of activity).
    [cir] Estimated ratio of the dollar amount of the Qualified 
Activities that formed the basis for a bank's application to the amount 
of the BEA Program award calculated for the Qualified Activities.
    [cir] Estimate on the extent to which the bank's actual Qualified 
Activities exceed the amount included in their BEA applications.
     Impact of the BEA Program awards on Recipient Banks and 
Distressed Communities.
    [cir] Perceived impact of BEA Program awards on recipient banks.

[[Page 14245]]

    [cir] Perceived impact of BEA Program awards on residents and 
businesses in Distressed Communities.
     Impact of BEA Program-eligible investments in CDFIs and in 
distressed communities.
    [cir] Perceived extent to which the Qualified Activities that 
formed the basis for banks' applications have benefited CDFIs and 
residents and businesses in distressed communities.
    The survey instrument will include 15-20 closed-ended questions 
(e.g., Likert scale, rating scale, rank order, or multiple response 
items), 3-5 ``other (specify)'' items, and a maximum of three open-
ended questions.
    Questions regarding the survey instrument should be directed to 
Greg Bischak, Program Manager, Financial Strategies and Research, at 
the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. Department 
of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20020, by 
email to [email protected] or by facsimile to (202) 508-0089.
    Type of Information Collection Request: New Collection.
    Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses or other for-profits, 
Not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 109 (based on an expected response 
rate of 70 percent).
    Estimated Annual Time per Respondent: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 55 hours.
    Requests For Comments: Comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB 
approval. All comments will become a matter of public record and may be 
published on the CDFI Fund Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. This 
notice solicits comments from the public and affected parties 
concerning the forthcoming online survey of FDIC-insured financial 
institutions that applied for BEA Program awards during calendar years 
2012, 2013, or 2014 with respect to: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collections; 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.

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1834a, 4703, 4703 note, 4713; 12 CFR part 
1806.

    Dated: March 10, 2015.
Annie Donovan,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2015-06233 Filed 3-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-70-P
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