Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The FDIC seeks to continue its engagement and collaboration with innovators in the financial, non-financial, and technology sectors to, among other things, identify, develop and promote technology-driven innovations among community and other banks in a manner that ensures the safety and soundness of FDIC-supervised and -insured institutions. An innovation pilot program framework can provide a regulatory environment in which the FDIC, in conjunction with individual proposals collected from innovators, including banks, will provide tailored regulatory and supervisory assistance, when appropriate, to facilitate the testing of innovative and advanced technologies, products, services, systems, or activities. As part of an innovation pilot program, innovators may request information from banks and other members of the public outside of their normal course of business. Any information provided by banks and other members of the public will be provided on a voluntary basis. FDIC staff may similarly request information on a voluntary basis from banks or other members of the public to evaluate the products or services developed in the pilot programs. The FDIC invites the general public, including persons who may have an interest in participating in innovation pilot programs, and other Federal agencies to comment on the agency's collection of information that may result from innovators obtaining information from banks and other members of the public in connection with innovation pilot programs, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. At the end of the comment period, any comments and recommendations received will be reviewed to determine the extent to which the collection of proposals should be modified prior to the submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before November 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to the FDIC by any of the following methods:

• Agency Website: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/ .

• Email: comments@fdic.gov . Include the name of the collection in the subject line of the message.

• Mail: Jennifer Jones (202-898-6768), Counsel, MB-3078, 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 17th Street NW building (located on F Street), on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All comments should reference “Information Collection for Innovation Pilot Programs.” 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:

Jennifer Jones, Counsel, 202-898-6768, jennjones@fdic.gov, MB-3078, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to amend the following currently approved collection of information:

1. Title: Information Collection for Innovation Pilot Programs.

OMB Number: 3064-0212.

Form Number: None.

Affected Public: FDIC-supervised and -insured institutions and other members of the public that provide information to innovators in connection with innovation pilot programs.

Burden Estimate:

General Description of Collection: The FDIC seeks to engage and collaborate with innovators in the financial, non-financial, and technology sectors to, among other things, identify, develop and promote technology-driven innovations among community and other banks in a manner that ensures the safety and soundness of FDIC-supervised and -insured institutions. An innovation pilot program framework will provide a regulatory environment in which the FDIC, in conjunction with individual proposals collected from innovators will provide tailored regulatory and supervisory assistance, when appropriate, to facilitate the testing of innovative and advanced technologies, products, services, systems, or activities.

The FDIC anticipates that products developed as part of innovation pilot programs will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of bank operations, and eventually, examinations, while increasing transparency and ultimately reducing the cost of regulatory compliance for participating institutions. In addition, the FDIC anticipates that proposals provided in connection with the innovation pilot programs will involve cutting-edge innovations and novel approaches or applications involving a banking product, service, system, or activity that benefits and can lead to better outcomes for consumers.

As part of an innovation pilot program, innovators may request information from banks and other members of the public outside of their normal course of business. Any information provided by banks and other members of the public will be provided on a voluntary basis. FDIC staff may similarly request information on a voluntary basis from banks or other members of the public to evaluate the products or services developed in the pilot programs. This information is intended to allow banks and the FDIC to analyze the health of the overall banking system, critical financial sectors, or national, regional or local economic conditions ( i.e., horizontal analysis). Additionally, bank specific information may be collected in order to allow for better insights into current and escalating risks across all aspects of banking. In particular, innovators may request from banks and other members of the public general ledger information about all products and services, or a subset of products and services, systems or activities, and will not contain any personally identifiable information (PII) as defined in OMB Circular A-130 and includes the disclosure of any financial records or information which is identified with or identifiable as being derived from the financial records of a particular customer.

The annual burden for this information collection is estimated to be 4,000 hours. This represents an increase of hours from the current burden estimate and also a change in focus. In particular, when this information collection was first obtained, it included the burden imposed on the innovators and partner banks. In review of this information collection, the FDIC has decided to transfer the burden imposed on innovators to existing information collection 3064-0072 entitled, “Acquisition Services Information Requirements,” which is related to the FDIC's procurement process. The remaining hours in this information collection, which have been updated and increased, reflect the burden imposed on banks and other members of the public in connection with innovation pilot programs.

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 estimate of the burden of the information collection, 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.