Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households (3064-0167); Comment Request, 9741-9742 [2017-02593]

Agencies

• FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9741-9742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02593]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


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

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the renewal of existing 
information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). On May 24, 2016, (81 FR 35752), the FDIC 
requested comment for 60 days on a proposal to renew the information 
collections described below. No comments were received. The FDIC hereby 
gives notice of its plan to submit to OMB a request to approve the 
renewal of these collections, and again invites comment on this 
renewal.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
the FDIC by any of the following methods:
     https://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/notices.html.
     Email: comments@fdic.gov. Include the name and number of 
the collection in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Manny Cabeza (202-898-3767), Counsel, 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 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 the relevant OMB control number. 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, at the FDIC address 
above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC is considering possible revisions 
to the following collection of information:
    Title: National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.
    OMB Number: 3064-0167.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: U.S. Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40,000.
    Average Time per Response: 9 minutes (0.15 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.15 hours x 40,000 respondents = 
6,000 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. The National Survey of Unbanked and 
Underbanked Households is one contribution to this end.
    The National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households is 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 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 
Households is designed to address these factors and provide a factual 
basis on the proportions of unbanked households. Such a factual basis 
is

[[Page 9742]]

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, June 2013 and June 2015 CPS. The results of these surveys were 
released to the public in December 2009, September 2012, October 2014, 
and October 2016, 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. The National 
Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households is the only population-
representative survey 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 previous Household Surveys, 
the full reports, and the survey questionnaires can be accessed through 
the following link: https://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 2017 
CPS. However, prior to finalizing the next 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. 
Specifically, there is a strict limitation on the number of questions 
permitted and the average time required to complete the survey.

Request for Comment

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collections of information 
are 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 collections 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.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 3rd day of February 2017.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-02593 Filed 2-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6714-01-P