Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

[Federal Register: May 19, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 97)]
[Notices]              
[Page 28824-28825]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19my08-59]                        

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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
 
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Information
Collection; 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 comment on a proposed new collection of information, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
The collection is related to a mandate under 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.'' To satisfy the
Congressional mandate, the FDICintends to conduct two complementary
surveys. One is a survey of FDIC-insured depository institutions on
their efforts to serve underbanked, as well as unbanked, populations
(underbanked populations include individuals who have an account with
an insured depository but also rely on non-bank alternative financial
service providers for transaction services or high-cost credit
products). The FDIChas already obtained OMB approval for this survey
and the survey effort is currently in process. The other is a survey of
U.S. households to estimate the size and worth of the unbanked and
underbanked markets and to identify the factors that inhibit their
participation in the mainstream banking system. The household survey
would be conducted for the FDICby the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as a
supplement to its monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) in January
2009. This notice addresses the household survey.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 18, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by
any of the following methods. All comments should refer to ``National
Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey'':
     http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
     E-mail: comments@fdic.gov. Include the name and number of
the collection in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Leneta Gregorie (202-898-3719), Counsel, Legal
Division, 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 a.m. and 5 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

[[Page 28825]]

Underbanked Household Survey on the following Web page: http://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/index.html. 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 Leneta Gregorie at the
address identified above, or by calling (202) 898-3719.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDICproposes to establish the following
collection of information:
    Title: National Unbanked and Underbanked Household Survey.
    OMB Number: New collection.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: U.S. households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 54,000.
    Average Time per Response: 10 minutes (0.166 hours) per respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 0.166 hours x54,000 respondents =
8,964 hours.

General Description of Collection

    This collection is related to a mandate under 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.'' The Congressional mandate further requires the FDIC
to conduct ongoing surveys to, among other things, estimate the size
and worth of the unbanked market in the United States and to identify
the cultural, language and identification issues as well as transaction
costs that appear to most prevent unbanked individuals from
establishing accounts with insured depository institutions. To satisfy
the Congressional mandate, the FDIChas proposed conducting two
complementary surveys related to unbanked and underbanked consumers
(underbanked consumers include individuals who have an account with an
insured depository institution, but also rely on non-bank alternative
financial service providers for transaction services or high-cost
credit products). The first survey effort, which has already obtained
OMB approval and is currently underway, is a survey of FDIC-insured
depository institutions on their efforts to serve unbanked and
underbanked consumers.
    The second survey effort, which is the subject of this notice,
would be a national survey of U.S. households to estimate the size and
worth of the unbanked and underbanked markets and to identify the
barriers households perceive when deciding how and where to conduct
financial transactions.
    To obtain the information required by the Reform Act related to
unbanked and underbanked households, for this survey effort the FDIC
proposes to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct a survey of
U.S. households as a supplement to Census' CPS in January 2009. The
supplement would be administered to households that participate in the
CPS and would be 10 minutes in length, on average.
    The FDICsupplement to the Census survey is designed to yield
significant new data on the numbers and demographic characteristics of
unbanked and underbanked households, as well as the barriers they
perceive when deciding how and where to conduct financial transactions.
Currently, there is a lack of basic data on the number of unbanked and
underbanked households in the U.S. and on the factors that may promote
or hinder access to the mainstream financial system . This will be the
first survey of its kind on this topic to be conducted at the national
level and results will also be reportable at the state level. The
results will help policymakers and the industry better understand the
extent to which U.S. households are financially underserved, the
reasons why U.S. households may be financially underserved, and the
opportunities that exist to better serve them.

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 proposed information collection should be modified prior to
submission to OMB for review and approval. After the comment period
closes, comments will be summarized 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 13th day of May, 2008.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-11072 Filed 5-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P