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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18402-18404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07798]

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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request Regarding the National Survey of Unbanked and 
Underbanked Households (3064-0167)

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment 
on the survey collection instrument for its fourth National Survey of 
Unbanked and Underbanked Households (2015 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 
2015 Current Population Survey (CPS). The survey seeks to estimate the 
proportions of unbanked and underbanked households in the U.S. 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 May 6, 2015.

[[Page 18403]]

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by 
any of the following methods. All comments should refer to ``National 
Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households'':
    http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the name and number of 
the collection in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Gary Kuiper, Counsel, (202.898.3877), MB-3074, or 
John Popeo, Counsel, (202.898.6923), 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 550 17th Street Building (located on F 
Street), on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested members of the public may 
obtain a copy of the survey and related instructions by clicking on the 
link for the National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey on the 
following Web page: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/. 
Interested members of the public may also obtain additional information 
about the collection, including a paper copy of the proposed collection 
and related instructions, without charge, by contacting Gary Kuiper or 
John Popeo at the address or telephone numbers identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC is requesting OMB approval to 
revise the following collection of information:
    Title: National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey.
    OMB Number: 3064-0167.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: U.S. households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 42,000.
    Average Time per Response: 12 minutes (0.2 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.2 hours x 42,000 respondents = 
8,400 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 the 
participation of unbanked and underbanked households in the financial 
mainstream by ensuring that all Americans have access to safe, secure, 
and affordable banking services. These National Surveys of Unbanked and 
Underbanked Households are one contribution to this end.
    These National Surveys of Unbanked and Underbanked Households are 
also a key 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 2015 Household Survey 
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.
    To obtain this information, the FDIC partnered with the U.S. Census 
Bureau, which administered the Household Survey supplement (``FDIC 
Supplement') to households that participated in the January 2009, June 
2011, and June 2013 CPS. The results of these surveys were released to 
the public in December 2009, September 2012, and October 2014, 
respectively.
    The FDIC supplement has yielded nationally-representative data, not 
otherwise available, on the size and characteristics of the population 
that is unbanked or underbanked, the use by this population of 
alternative financial services, and the reasons why some households do 
not make greater use of mainstream banking services. These National 
Surveys of Unbanked and Underbanked Households are the only population-
representative surveys 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. 
An executive summary of the results of the first three Household 
Surveys, the full reports, and the survey instruments 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 fourth Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2015 
CPS. However, prior to finalizing the next survey instrument, 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 2015 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. Specifically, there is a strict limitation on the average 
time required to complete the survey.

Comment Discussion

    On January 22, 2015 (80 FR 3234), the FDIC issued a request for 
comment on possible revisions to the 2015 Household Survey. The FDIC 
received three comments related to this survey effort. One of the 
commenters suggested that the FDIC collect information on household 
asset levels. The commenter noted that this would allow retail banks 
that use asset levels in their segmentation and strategy work to easily 
incorporate data from the 2015 Household Survey into their analyses. 
The FDIC seeks to provide insights from the 2015 Household Survey to 
inform efforts to better meet the needs of underserved consumers, and 
strongly encourages use of the survey data by financial institutions 
and other stakeholders. The FDIC is concerned that households' asset 
holdings may be sensitive information for many households and that 
asking for this information may reduce participation in the survey. In 
all of the surveys to date, including the 2015 Household Survey, there 
are no survey questions that ask households for specific dollar amounts 
regarding saving, assets or spending. The 2015 Household Survey does 
contain some new questions that will help the FDIC better understand 
households' savings behavior, including ways in which households save 
money, and about their ability to meet their monthly obligations. 
Detailed data on households' asset holdings are available from other 
sources, such as the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances.
    One commenter cautioned against the use of online methods for 
conducting the 2015 Household Survey. The 2015 Household Survey is an 
interviewer-administered survey conducted by the Census Bureau in-
person or by telephone.
    One commenter recommended that the 2015 Household Survey retain as

[[Page 18404]]

many questions as possible from the 2013 Survey, including questions on 
prepaid cards, direct deposit and reasons for not having a bank 
account, to allow local and national Bank-On programs to measure the 
impact of their efforts. The FDIC values the ability to compare results 
over time and the 2015 Household Survey retains successful elements of 
the previous surveys, including the core unbanked and underbanked 
measurements, while also reorganizing and adding questions to gain new 
insights relevant to serving a diverse range of consumers. The 2015 
Household Survey retains many questions from previous surveys and 
continues to collect information on the use of prepaid cards, direct 
deposits, and the reasons for not having a bank account.
    One commenter suggested the addition of specific questions to 
measure household financial fragility to help understand the 
connections between emergency savings and banking access (i.e., 
household's ability to access $2000). The 2015 Household Survey does 
not include this particular question due to the need to keep the 
average length short to reduce non-response. However, it contains a 
number of new questions that will help the FDIC better understand 
households' financial condition. Specifically, the survey will ask 
about ways in which households save money, their ability to meet their 
monthly obligations, their income volatility, and their access to 
mainstream credit.
    One commenter suggested collecting information on a wider range of 
credit products. The 2015 questionnaire added a new section on the use 
of credit products, including mainstream banking credit products (e.g., 
credit cards, line of credits) to capture a more complete picture of 
households' use of credit. However, due to space constraints, questions 
are focused on mainstream credit products that are more likely to be 
substitutes for the small-dollar, short-term credit available from 
alternative financial service providers. The commenter also suggested 
collecting more information on the frequency of use of credit and 
transaction products in order to better understand households' varying 
intensity of use of these products. This suggestion is in part 
addressed by the revisions made in the 2015 survey. In addition to the 
use of financial products in the last 12 months, the proposed survey 
also asks households about their typical use of these products to 
better differentiate regular users from one-time users.
    The commenter also made suggestions to improve the usability of the 
online tool for analyzing the survey data that is currently available 
at www.economicinclusion.gov. These comments are helpful and will be 
taken into account the next time we consider revising the tools.
    One commenter encouraged the FDIC to offer training to 
municipalities and others on how to use and maximize the opportunities 
offered by the custom table generator at: www.economicinclusion.gov. 
The FDIC's Community Affairs staff work with local stakeholders to 
disseminate information about how to use and access the survey data, 
including the use of the table generator tool at: 
www.economicinclusion.gov. The FDIC will continue to make sure that 
this information is regularly shared in presentations and outreach 
materials.

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 collection; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
information collection on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    The FDIC will consider all comments to determine the extent to 
which the information collection should be modified prior to submission 
to OMB for review and approval. After the comment period closes, 
comments will be summarized and/or included in the FDIC's request to 
OMB for approval of the collection. All comments will become a matter 
of public record.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 1st day of April 2015.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-07798 Filed 4-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P
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