FR2023_20150527_omb_B

Supporting Statement B for the
Senior Financial Officer Survey
(FR 2023; OMB No. 7100-0223)
Overview of Statistical Methods
Statistical Methods
The Federal Reserve uses this voluntary survey to collect qualitative and limited
quantitative information about liability management, the provision of financial services, and the
functioning of key financial markets from a selection of up to 80 large commercial banks (or, if
appropriate, from other depository institutions or major financial market participants).
Responses are obtained from a senior officer at each participating institution through a telephone
interview conducted by the Federal Reserve.
The primary panel of respondents currently comprises 78 large, domestically chartered
commercial banks, distributed as evenly as possible across Federal Reserve districts. Although
the primary panel of respondents has been, and will likely continue to be, appropriate for most
survey topics, panels based on alternative criteria may be more appropriate and efficient for
some situations. Consequently, the option would continue to be available to survey other
depository institutions or major participants in financial markets. This option greatly enhances
the potential scope and utility of the survey.
The survey does not have a fixed set of questions; each survey consists of a limited
number of questions directed at topics of timely interest. To the extent possible, the Federal
Reserve notifies respondents in advance as to the topic(s) to be covered in an impending survey.
In extraordinary circumstances, when such notice is not possible, the decision to waive this
advance notice provision would be made only by Federal Reserve Board officials. Responses
are collected through a telephone interview with a senior officer at each respondent either by a
Reserve Bank officer or senior-level Federal Reserve Board staff member who has expertise in
the area of bank liability management, or by a Federal Reserve Board staff member, as
appropriate.
The survey may be conducted up to four times per year. In 1994, two surveys were
conducted that assisted the Federal Reserve in its assessment of bank behavior and financial
market conditions. Since then, only three surveys have been conducted (in May 1996, May
1998, and August 2006), as there were no circumstances requiring more frequent surveys.
However, such circumstances could arise in the future and the Federal Reserve believes that the
authority to conduct up to four surveys a year is essential in order for the Federal Reserve to
maintain the ability to keep abreast of important market developments.
The Federal Reserve uses the Senior Financial Officer Survey to obtain information about
deposit pricing and behavior, bank liability management, the provision of financial services, and
reserve management practices. The survey helps pinpoint developing trends in bank funding
practices, enabling the Federal Reserve to distinguish these trends from transitory phenomena. It
also complements other deposit reports that, by themselves, provide limited insight into the
causes of the changing behavior of deposit holders and depository institutions. Moreover, the

survey has given the Federal Reserve the opportunity to follow periodic developments in
financial markets related to extraordinary events that are beyond the scope of other reports.
The Senior Financial Officer Survey has assisted the Federal Reserve in its assessment of
bank behavior and financial market conditions by improving knowledge of institutional
arrangements and by permitting prompt inquiries in response to unusual circumstances.
Information collected through the survey has also been used by the Federal Open Market
Committee and has contributed to the formulation of monetary policy.
Survey responses are tabulated and summarized at the Federal Reserve Board. Summary
data are forwarded to Reserve Banks for distribution to respondents and also are available to
other members of the public.1

1

As noted above, information was collected on an August 2006 survey, but that survey was not completed or
published.

2