Dec 2 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the survey collection instrument for its seventh biennial survey of households, which has been renamed the Survey of Household Use of Banking and Financial Services (“Household Survey”). The 2021 Household Survey is scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to its June 2021 Current Population Survey (CPS). The survey collects information on U.S. households' use of bank accounts, other transaction accounts including prepaid cards and online payment services, nonbank financial transaction services, and bank and nonbank credit. The results of these biennial surveys will be published in the FDIC's How America Banks reports which help inform policymakers, bankers, and researchers about how households use, or don't use, the banking system.
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. The Household Survey 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. Increasingly, financial products and services are provided by nonbanks, many through the use of a mobile phone app. Households are selecting different combinations of bank and nonbank financial products and services to meet their core banking needs. Consequently, the Household Survey has broadened its focus to include a wide range of bank and nonbank financial products and services and to collect information on whether and how households are using these in combination.
To obtain this information, the FDIC partners with the U.S. Census Bureau, which administers the Household Survey supplement (FDIC Supplement) to households that participate in the CPS. The supplement has been administered every other year since January 2009. The previous survey questionnaires and survey results can be accessed through the following link:
http://www.economicinclusion.gov/surveys/.
Prior to finalizing the 2021 survey questionnaire, the FDIC solicits 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:
https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2020/2021-survey-of-household-use-of-banking-and-financial-services.pdf.
FR notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/02/2020-26572/agency-information-collection-activities-proposed-revision-of-information-collection-survey-of
Point of contact: Manny Cabeza, Regulatory Counsel, FDIC 202-898-3767 mcabeza@fdic.gov
