Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request, 2740-2741 [2020-00566]

Agencies

• FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2740-2741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00566]


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

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

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 March 16, 2020.

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: A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA) OMB submission, including the reporting form and instructions, 
supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's 
public docket files, 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 below.
    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.

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.
    Agency form number: FR 3033p.
    OMB control number: 100-0277.
    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 
currently comprises 11 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 that responded to the FR 3033p.
    Estimated number of respondents: 1,200.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.5.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 1,800.

[[Page 2741]]

    General description of report: From the universe of finance 
companies identified by the 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: The Board proposes to revise the FR 3033p to 
improve the accuracy of identifying finance companies, improve response 
rates, and simplify the form overall; the FR 3033s is not being revised 
in this submission. The proposed FR 3033p revisions, which would be 
effective for the May 2020 survey date, include:
     Revising the questionnaire title to ``2020 Census of 
Finance Companies and Other Lenders'' for clarity. Responses from past 
rounds of surveys indicated that some respondents might not view 
themselves as finance companies, even though they are likely to be a 
target of interest by the survey definition.
     Revising general instructions at the beginning of the 
survey for clarity.
     Renumbering questions as needed to conform to revisions 
and to improve clarity. As a result, the FR 3033p will have seven 
questions instead of eleven.
     Clarifying the ``No'' option in question 1 to read ``My 
company or I do not make loans or leases (in person or online)'' so 
that an early exit is offered to recipients who have likely received 
the survey form by mistake.
     Revising the ``Other'' option in question 1 to have two 
choices: ``Sold'' and ``Not in business''.
     Simplifying question 3 to a yes/no question.
     Revising the wording in question 4 to read ``Business 
loans and leases'' and ``Consumer loans and leases''. Definitions for 
these terms are incorporated into the answer choices.
     Deleting question 5. This question asks about the types of 
credit or financing that a company offers. It has five parts with 
multiple choices available for selection. This question was first added 
to the 2015 census, and the responses showed little value. The burden 
seems relatively high, especially given the lack of value.
     Revising question 11 and renumbering as question 7. 
Explicit categories for contact information are created, such as name 
of person completing the survey and title of the person. City, state, 
and zip code information are asked in separate categories.
     Adding a check box at the end of the questionnaire to 
offer respondents an opportunity to receive the results of the survey. 
This is a way to encourage participation and improve survey response.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 3033 is 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 (``FOMC'') ``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'' (12 U.S.C. 225a). Under section 12A of the FRA, the 
FOMC 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'' (12 U.S.C. 263). 
Information collected from the FR 3033 is used to fulfill these 
obligations.
    The information collected pursuant to the FR 3033 may be treated as 
confidential pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 
5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), which protects ``trade secrets and commercial or 
financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or 
confidential.''
    Consultation outside the agency: For the renewal of this 
information collection, the Board consulted with OpenCorporates, 
Competiscan, Zoominfo, Melissa Data, and Infogroup to identify 
companies as potential respondents for the census.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 10, 
2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-00566 Filed 1-15-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P