SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The FDIC is requesting OMB approval for the following collection of information:

Title: FDIC How America Banks Survey.

OMB Number: 3064-0215.

Frequency of Response: Once.

Affected Public: Individuals residing in U.S. Households.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 40,000.

Average Time per Response: 9 minutes (0.15 hours) per respondent.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 6,000 hours.

General Description of Collection: The FDIC recognizes that access to a bank account is essential for Americans to participate in many aspects of the economy. As part of its mission of maintaining the stability of and public confidence in the U.S. financial system, the FDIC has a longstanding goal of ensuring Americans can access and benefit from bank accounts. The FDIC How America Banks Survey (Household Survey) is one avenue by which the FDIC responds to a Congressional mandate contained in section 7 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Conforming Amendments Act of 2005 (Reform Act) (Pub. L. 109-173) 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 Household Survey collects information on bank account ownership which provides a factual basis for measuring the number and percentage of households that are unbanked. It is the only population-representative survey conducted at the national level that provides state-level estimates of the size and characteristics of unbanked households for all 50 States and the District of Columbia. The Household Survey also collects information from unbanked households about the reasons that they do not have a bank account and their interest in having a bank account.

Nonbank financial companies are playing an increasingly important role in the provision of financial products and services in the U.S., and households may use a variety of bank and nonbank financial products and services to meet their needs. Consequently, the Household Survey collects information on whether and how households use a wide range of bank and nonbank financial products and services.

To obtain this information, the FDIC partners with the U.S. Census Bureau, which administers the Household Survey under an FDIC-sponsored supplement to its Current Population Survey (CPS). The Household Survey has been administered every other year since January 2009. The previous survey questionnaires and survey results can be accessed through the following link: fdic.gov/​analysis/​household-survey.

Consistent with the statutory mandate to conduct the surveys on an ongoing basis, the FDIC already has in place arrangements for conducting the tenth Household Survey as a supplement to the June 2027 CPS. Prior to finalizing the 2027 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. Interested members of the public may obtain a copy of the proposed survey questionnaire on the following web page: www.fdic.gov/​resources/​regulations/​federal-register-publications/​2027/​2027-household-survey-questionnaire.pdf.

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 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 collection 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.

91 FR 67832