FR3033s_20170427_omb_B

Supporting Statement B for the
Survey of Finance Companies
(FR 3033s; OMB No. 7100-0277)
Overview of Statistical Methods
Statistical Methods
The Board proposes keeping the FR 3033s survey sample size at 3,000 finance
companies, as in 2010. As a result of the FR 3033p responses, the Board identified the universe
of finance companies for the survey.1 The survey is stratified by size of total assets and by
specialization in receivables. The survey sample includes all FR 3033p respondents that reported
at least $1 billion in total assets. For coverage of smaller respondents2, the main survey sample
includes a sufficient number of companies with assets under $1 billion to provide adequate
representation for the expected analytical purposes.
In 2010, the Board sent the survey to 2,348 finance companies and received 911
responses (39 percent). After additional data cleaning, 692 of these 911 responses were deemed
to be usable. The 2010 population size, total sample, and the number of usable responses in each
stratum are shown in Table 1.
Given that the universe of finance companies has most likely changed since December
2010, error estimates based on the 2010 data must be interpreted as a rough guideline for the
census panel structure. The Board calculated the standard errors of aggregate levels of finance
company receivables in selected balance sheet categories in Table 2. Response rates for the
upcoming FR 3033s may fall below the level of 2010, but the Board will make a concerted effort
to raise response rates, and the estimated standard errors would fall if this effort is successful.

1

The Board has the following pre-determined set of characteristics to internally determine if the respondent is a
finance company. A finance company is defined as (1) a domestic entity, (2) a company with 50 percent or more of
its assets in the form of loans or leases, and (3) a nondepository institution.
2
For the purposes of this proposal, the term small or smaller respondent or company is defined as a company that
reports less than $1 billion in assets.

Table 1
Survey Response Distribution by Asset Size of Finance Company

2010
FR 3033p
Estimated
population

2010 FR 3033s
Total sample

2010 FR 3033s
Number of usable
responses

Less than $1 million

2,339

943

170

$1 to less than $10 million

1,348

702

200

$10 to less than $100
million

1,261

472

186

$100 million to less than
$1 billion

290

153

88

$1 to less than $3 billion

63

39

15

$3 to less than $20 billion

25

21

16

$20 billion or more

20

18

17

5,346

2,348

692

Asset size

Totals

2

Table 2
Standard Errors of Aggregate Levels of Finance Company
Receivables in Selected Balance Sheet Categories
($ in billions with % of outstanding in parentheses)
2010 Panel size
2,348

Financial items

Number of usable responses
692
Total

41.77 (2.22)

Total consumer

26.15 (3.20)

Motor vehicle

9.24 (2.37)

Revolving

5.43 (6.49)

Other

12.83 (3.72)

Real estate

7.19 (2.91)

Total business

17.17 (4.13)

Motor vehicle

4.65 (3.94)

Equipment

9.16 (4.38)

Other

3.86 (4.36)

Bank loans

6.56 (6.79)

To cope with the expected level of nonresponse to the survey, the Board intends to select
a subsample of non-respondents for further follow-up that would include both additional letters
and phone calls. The follow-up study would explore nonresponse bias and would include
questions related to, but not necessarily identical to, the survey questions. These follow-up
questions may be helpful in understanding the key dimensions of nonresponse.

3