Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Revision of Information Collection; FDIC How America Banks Survey; Comment Request (3064-0215)

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The FDIC, as part of its obligations under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the survey collection instrument for its tenth biennial survey of households, the FDIC How America Banks Survey (Household Survey).\1\ This survey is assigned OMB Control No. 3064-0215. The 2027 Household Survey is scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to its June 2027 Current Population Survey (CPS). The survey collects information on U.S. households' use of bank accounts, prepaid cards, nonbank online payment services and other nonbank financial transaction services, and bank and nonbank credit. The results of these biennial surveys are published by the FDIC, and help inform policymakers, bankers, and researchers about bank account ownership and how households use the banking system and nonbank financial products and services to meet their financial needs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67832-67833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21983]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Revision of 
Information Collection; FDIC How America Banks Survey; Comment Request 
(3064-0215)

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY:  The FDIC, as part of its obligations under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the survey 
collection instrument for its tenth biennial survey of households, the 
FDIC How America Banks Survey (Household Survey).\1\ This survey is 
assigned OMB Control No. 3064-0215. The 2027 Household Survey is 
scheduled to be conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau as 
a supplement to its June 2027 Current Population Survey (CPS). The 
survey collects information on U.S. households' use of bank accounts, 
prepaid cards, nonbank online payment services and other nonbank 
financial transaction services, and bank and nonbank credit. The 
results of these biennial surveys are published by the FDIC, and help 
inform policymakers, bankers, and researchers about bank account 
ownership and how households use the banking system and nonbank 
financial products and services to meet their financial needs.
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    \1\ The FDIC How America Banks Survey was formerly known as the 
FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.

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DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 28, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to

[[Page 67833]]

the FDIC by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Agency Website: <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/">https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/</a>.
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#42212d2f2f272c36310224262b216c252d34"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="31525e5c5c545f454271575558521f565e47">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Include the name and number of 
the collection in the subject line of the message.
    <bullet> Mail: Robert Meiers, Regulatory Attorney (571 645 3062), 
MB-3013, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20249.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand-delivered to the guard 
station at the rear of the 17th Street NW building (located on F Street 
NW), on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
    All comments should refer to ``Household Survey.'' A copy of the 
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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Meiers, Regulatory Attorney, 
(571) 645-3062, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#83f1eceee6eae6f1f0c3e5e7eae0ade4ecf5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d7f62606864687f7e4d6b69646e236a627b">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, MB-3013, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.

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: <a href="http://fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey">http://fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey</a>.
    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: <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/2027/2027-household-survey-questionnaire.pdf">https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/2027/2027-household-survey-questionnaire.pdf</a>.

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.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    Dated at Washington, DC, on October 26, 2026.
Jennifer M. Jones,
Deputy Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-21983 Filed 10-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6714-01-P


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