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FDIC Federal Register Citations
[Federal Register: June 7, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 109)]
[Notices]
[Page 31579-31581]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07jn07-50]

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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: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required
to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently
valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The FDIC is
contemplating initiating a two-year pilot program relating to small-
dollar lending by insured depository institutions. Institutions meeting
threshold eligibility requirements may volunteer to participate in the
pilot, and the collection at this first stage would provide certain
basic information as to the institution and its current or proposed
small-dollar lending program. Participating institutions would
thereafter provide certain information to the FDIC about their ongoing
experience with their small-dollar lending program. The collection at
this second stage would provide information on the most effective and
replicable business practices to incorporate affordable small-dollar
loans into effective business models to reach out to underserved
communities and to

[[Page 31580]]

develop new customers for mainstream banking services, whether
consumers who take advantage of such loans migrate into other banking
products, and whether a savings component provides a steady increase in
savings.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 6, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web Site: http://http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal.
 Follow instructions for submitting comments on the Agency Web

Site.
     E-mail: Comments@FDIC.gov.
     Mail: Leneta Gregorie, Legal Division, Attention:
Comments, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20429.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 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. (EST).
    All comments should refer to ``Pilot Study of Small Dollar Loan
Programs.'' Copies of 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.
    Public Inspection: All comments received will be posted without
change to http://http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal including any
personal information provided. Comments may be inspected and
photocopied in the FDIC Public Information Center, 3501 North Fairfax
Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
(EST) on business days. Paper copies of public comments may be ordered
from the Public Information Center by telephone at (877) 275-3342 or
(703) 562-2200.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested members of the public may
obtain additional information about the collection, including a 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:

Proposal To Seek OMB Approval for the Following New Collection of
Information

    Title: Pilot Study of Small-Dollar Loan Programs.
    OMB Number: New collection (3064-xxxx).
    Frequency of Response: Pilot study application--one-time; Program
evaluation reports--quarterly for two years.
    Affected Public: Insured depository institutions that apply for and
are accepted to participate in the pilot study.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Pilot study application--40;
Program evaluation reports--20 to 40.
    Estimated time per response: Pilot study application: Estimated
average of 2 hours per respondent. Program evaluation reports:
Estimated average of 5 hours per respondent per quarter during study.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden:
    Pilot study application: 40 respondents times 2 hours per
respondent = 80 hours.
    Program evaluation reports: 20 to 40 respondents times 5 hours per
respondent times 4 (quarterly) collections = 400 to 800 aggregate
hours.
    Total burden = 80 + 800 = 880 hours.

General Description of Collection

    In recognition of the huge demand for small-dollar, unsecured
loans, as evidenced by the proliferation around the country of payday
lenders, the FDIC, on December 4, 2006, proposed and sought comment on
guidelines for such products (http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06107.html
). The proposed guidelines addressed several aspects of

product development, including affordability and streamlined
underwriting. Based on the comments received, the FDIC is in the
process of revising the guidelines for issuance in final form. The
FDIC's goal in issuing the guidance is to encourage state nonmember
banks to offer small-dollar, unsecured loans in a safe and sound manner
that is also cost-effective and responsive to customer needs.
    To further encourage the development by insured depository
institutions of small-dollar credit programs, the FDIC is contemplating
conducting a pilot study to identify and evaluate the key components of
small-dollar loan programs, with the goal of identifying the most
effective and replicable business plans for bankers, determining the
degree to which customers of such programs migrate into other banking
products, assessing the extent to which a savings component results in
increased savings, and identifying program features which can be deemed
``best practices.'' Programs selected for the pilot may be either
already in existence at an insured institution or developed
specifically for participation in the study. The pilot study will
require collection of data from applicant institutions to determine
eligibility as well as quarterly collection (for two years) of data
from participating institutions, to the extent such data are not
currently included in the Call Reports or other standard regulatory
reports, to evaluate program success.
    Pilot Study Application: Volunteers for the pilot program will be
screened to ensure that they meet certain basic eligibility
requirements. A volunteer will likely be asked to demonstrate, by
certification or otherwise, that it meets the following threshold
requirements: A composite ``1'' or ``2'' rating on its most recent
Safety and Soundness examination and a Management rating of ``1'' or
``2''; satisfactory policies and procedures in all areas, including
lending, audits, aggregate risk, internal controls, liquidity, interest
rate risk, compliance, BSA/AML; a composite ``1'' or ``2'' rating on
its most recent Compliance examination; at least a ``Satisfactory''
rating on its most recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluation;
the fact that it is not currently subject to a formal or informal
enforcement action or the subject of an investigation or inquiry.
    Each volunteer interested in participating in the study will also
be asked to provide the following (or similar) information:
     Whether it already offers small-dollar loans and, if so,
the terms of such loans;
     If it proposes to initiate a small-dollar loan program,
the proposed structure of the program;
     The current or proposed size of the program;
     How it proposes to market the program;
     How it envisions the small-dollar loan application
process;
     What it proposes as underwriting criteria; and
     Proposed interest rates and fees.
    Key features of a preferred small-dollar lending program might
include loan amounts of up to $1,000; amortization periods longer than
a single pay cycle and up to 36 months for closed-end credit, or
minimum payments which reduce principal (i.e., do not result in
negative amortization) for open-end credit; annual percentage rates
(APR) below 36 percent; no prepayment penalties; origination and/or
maintenance fees limited to the amount necessary to cover actual costs;
and a savings component.
    Descriptions provided by eligible volunteers will be reviewed by a
FDIC selection panel. To provide more meaningful information about the
pilot's success, the institutions selected to participate will likely
consist of various sized institutions and in widely dispersed
geographic locations.
    Program evaluation reports: A volunteer must agree to the
monitoring

[[Page 31581]]

and data collection aspects of the pilot program. For this purpose, the
FDIC anticipates that the following (or similar) information will be
collected from participating institutions on a quarterly basis for two
years:
    1. Information about the loans in the Program
    a. The total number and total dollar amount of loans.
    b. Average loan term and average dollar size of loans.
    c. Average interest rates charged, average fees levied, and average
calculations of APR (as required by the Truth-in-Lending Act).
    d. Aggregate delinquency, charge off, and workout refinancing data.
    2. Information about the business value of the Program
    a. Profitability and/or break even data for the overall Program.
    b. Profitability of the overall customer relationship (especially
if the customer migrated into other products)
    c. Information regarding whether customers of the Program migrated
to other bank products.
    3. Information about the benefit to consumers
    a. The total number and total dollar amount of linked savings
accounts opened as part of the Program.
    b. Information as to duration and withdrawal rates of the linked
savings accounts.
    c. Information regarding whether customers of the Program continued
to use payday loans or other high-cost debt products.
    The preferred method for collecting these data is electronic
submission through the existing FDICconnect data interface system to
minimize burden on respondents, with participating institutions
submitting the data within 40 calendar days of the end of each quarter.
The study will conform to privacy rules and will not request any
information that could be used to identify individual bank customers,
such as name, address, or account number. All data from participating
insured institutions will remain confidential. It is the intent of the
FDIC to publish only general findings of the study.

Benefits to Institutions Participating in the Pilot

    As indicated above, the study is being conducted on a volunteer
basis. It is anticipated, however, that institutions participating in
the study will realize some benefits. A state non-member bank that
establishes a loan program that provides small, unsecured consumer
loans that are consistent with the Affordable Small-Dollar Loan
Guidelines would warrant favorable consideration by the FDIC under the
CRA as an activity responsive to the credit needs of its community. It
is anticipated that other institutions will also likely be entitled to
similar favorable consideration after review by their primary federal
regulator. Moreover, programs that transition low or moderate income
borrowers from higher cost loans to lower cost loans are particularly
responsive to community needs. Consequently, state non-member banks
offering lower cost alternatives to such borrowers will also be viewed
by the FDIC as particularly responsive in the CRA examination and
similarly, other institutions upon review by their primary federal
regulator.
    Where small-dollar loan products are combined with a low-cost
savings account, institutions may also qualify for favorable
consideration for providing community development services.
Institutions can potentially use the small-dollar loan pilot to tap
into new markets by expanding relationships with individuals who
currently may not be fully utilizing the mainstream financial system.
An intangible benefit that may accrue to institutions participating in
the small-dollar pilot is the community goodwill that will likely be
created as a result of offering consumers credit products with
significant savings over payday loan fees.

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; (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; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs, and costs
of operation, maintenance and purchase of services to provide the
information.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 1st day of June, 2007.

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-11005 Filed 6-6-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6714-01-P


    

Last Updated 06/07/2007 Regs@fdic.gov

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