FR1379_20200224_omb

Supporting Statement for the
Consumer Satisfaction Questionnaire,
Federal Reserve Consumer Help - Consumer Survey,
Consumer Online Complaint Form, and Appraisal Complaint Form
(FR 1379a, b, c, and d; OMB No. 7100-0135)
Summary
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), under authority
delegated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has extended for three years,
without revision, the Consumer Satisfaction Questionnaire (FR 1379a), Federal Reserve
Consumer Help - Consumer Survey (FR 1379b), Consumer Online Complaint Form (FR 1379c),
and Appraisal Complaint Form (FR 1379d) (collectively FR 1379; OMB No. 7100-0135).
 The FR 1379a is sent to consumers who have filed complaints with the Federal Reserve
against state member banks or other financial institution supervised by the Board. The
information is used to assess the satisfaction of the consumers with the Federal Reserve’s
handling of, and written response to, their complaints at the conclusion of an
investigation.
 The FR 1379b is a survey sent to consumers who contact the Federal Reserve Consumer
Help (FRCH) desk1 to file a complaint or inquiry. The information is used to determine
whether consumers are satisfied with the way the FRCH handled their complaint.
 The FR 1379c collection addresses the burden associated with consumers electronically
submitting a complaint against a financial institution to the FRCH.
 The FR 1379d collects information about complaints regarding a regulated institution’s
non-compliance with the appraisal independence standards and the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice, including complaints from appraisers, individuals,
financial institutions, and other entities.
The current estimated total annual burden for the FR 1379 is 1,291 hours. The forms and
instructions are available on the Board’s public website at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/default.aspx.
Background and Justification
A 1976 staff report by the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs of the House Committee
on Banking, Currency and Housing recommended the periodic evaluation of the Federal
Reserve’s complaint-handling system. In response, the Board developed the Consumer
Satisfaction Questionnaire in May 1977 to be sent to consumers whose complaints against state
member banks were referred to a Federal Reserve Bank for investigation. Completion of the
questionnaire is voluntary. In 1999, the Board extended distribution of the questionnaire to all
consumers who have filed complaints involving state member banks and began requesting that
consumers provide certain demographic information. The questionnaire has been revised from
time to time, most recently in 2008, to assess consumer attitudes more accurately.

1

See https://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/.

In November 2017, the Federal Reserve System launched the FRCH website,
https://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/, a new centralized resource that consolidates and
streamlines the Federal Reserve System’s intake of consumer complaints and inquiries. The
FRCH is operated by existing call centers and staff at the Kansas City and Minneapolis Reserve
Banks. As a result, in 2008, the Board implemented (1) a new voluntary survey, the FRCH Consumer Survey, to facilitate assessment of FRCH staff’s handling of consumer complaints and
inquiries and (2) a new voluntary online consumer complaint form, the Consumer Online
Complaint Form, available on the FRCH website.
In 2012, the appraisal complaint form was created to assist in efforts to oversee the
appraisal practices of Board-supervised institutions. Appraisal complaints are submitted to the
appropriate agency using the Interagency Appraisal Complaint Form and are filed directly by an
appraiser, other individual, financial institution, or other entities.
Description of Information Collection
Consumer Satisfaction Questionnaire (FR 1379a)
The Consumer Satisfaction Questionnaire is a six-question questionnaire that is sent to a
consumer after investigation of the consumer’s complaint against a state member bank. Although
participation is optional, the questionnaire indicates that the responses would help improve the
Federal Reserve’s service to consumers.
The Consumer Satisfaction Questionnaire includes four questions that ask consumers to
indicate their level of satisfaction with the Federal Reserve’s investigation. The fifth question
asks consumers to indicate how they learned about the Federal Reserve’s consumer complaint
program, and the sixth question asks whether they would contact the Federal Reserve again for
assistance.
FRCH - Consumer Survey (FR 1379b)
The FRCH - Consumer Survey is a five-question survey sent to consumers who contacted
the FRCH to file a complaint or inquiry.
Consumer Online Complaint Form (FR 1379c)
The Consumer Online Complaint Form is an online, fillable complaint form.2 Consumers
can electronically complete and submit the complaint form on the FRCH website thereby
increasing the speed with which consumers can transmit their complaint and receive a response
from FRCH staff.

2

The FR 1379c online form is available at
https://forms.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/secure/complaint/formComplaint.

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Alternatively, consumers may download a PDF version of the complaint form from the
FRCH website3 and e-mail, mail via the US Postal Service, or fax it to the FRCH. The complaint
form asks consumers for their contact information, information about the institution they are
filing a complaint against, a description of the complaint, and how it can be satisfactorily
addressed.
Appraisal Complaint Form (FR 1379d)
The Appraisal Complaint Form is an online, fillable complaint form.4 Alternatively,
consumers may download a PDF version of the complaint form from the FRCH website5 and
e-mail, mail via the US Postal Service, or fax it to the FRCH.
Respondent Panel
The FR 1379 panel comprises of consumers, appraisers, and financial institutions.
Time Schedule for Information Collection
There are no established time schedules for completing the consumer satisfaction
questionnaire, consumer survey, online complaint form, or appraisal complaint form because
their use by consumers is voluntary. These collections are event generated, and submission is
voluntary.
Public Availability of Data
The data collected on the FR 1379 family of forms may be aggregated and published in
the Board’s annual report to Congress and other internal reports.
Legal Status
The FR 1379 family of forms is authorized pursuant to section 8 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. § 1818) and section 11(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. §
248(a)). Section 8 provides the Board broad authority to enforce compliance with laws against
entities within its jurisdiction, including state member banks. Section 11(a) broadly empowers
the Board to examine “the affairs of each Federal reserve bank and of each member bank.” The
FR 1379d is additionally authorized pursuant to Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform,
Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, which requires the Board to prescribe standards for
appraisals used by its regulated entities (12 U.S.C. §§ 3331-3355). The Board uses the
information obtained from the FR 1379 to help fulfill these obligations. The forms comprising
the FR 1379 family of forms are voluntary.
3

A PDF version of the FR 1379c is available at
https://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/~/media/Files/complaint/complaintform.pdf.
4
The FR 1379d online form is available at
https://forms.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/secure/appraisal/formAppraisal?sc_lang=en.
5
A PDF version of the FR 1379d are available at
https://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/~/media/Files/appraisal/appraisalComplaintForm.pdf.

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Individual respondents may request that information submitted to the Board through the
FR 1379 family of forms be kept confidential on a case-by-case basis. The FR 1379a does not
collect any personal information from the respondent and is not likely to be considered
confidential. Three of the forms (FR 1379b, FR 1379c, and FR 1379d) collect personal
information, such as the respondent’s name, contact information, and information regarding the
subject of the complaint. This personal information may be kept confidential under exemption 6
of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because disclosure of such information would
constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6)). In addition,
information concerning the subject of a complaint may be kept confidential under exemption 4 of
FOIA to the extent it involves trade secrets and confidential commercial and financial
information (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4)). With respect to the FR 1379c and FR 1379d, determinations
regarding disclosure of the information to third parties of any confidential portions of these
forms would be made in accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)). A hyperlink
directing the applicant to the relevant Privacy Act statement is provided in these forms on the
Board’s website.
Consultation Outside the Agency
There has been no consultation outside the Federal Reserve System.
Public Comments
On September 10, 2019, the Board published an initial notice in the Federal Register
(84 FR 47507) requesting public comment for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the
FR 1379. The comment period for this notice expired on November 12, 2019. The Board did not
receive any comments. On December 16, 2019, the Board published a final notice in the Federal
Register (84 FR 68450).
Estimate of Respondent Burden
As shown in the table below, the estimated total annual burden for the FR 1379 is 1,291
hours. These reporting requirements represent less than 1 percent of the Board’s total paperwork
burden.
Estimated
number of
respondents
551
1,455
6,719
7

FR 1379
FR 1379a
FR 1379b
FR 1379c
FR 1379d
Total

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Annual
frequency
1
1
1
1

Estimated
average hours
per response
0.08333
0.08333
0.16666
0.5

Estimated
annual burden
hours
46
121
1,120
4
1,291

The estimated total annual cost to the public for the FR 1379 is $33,566.6
Sensitive Questions
These collections of information contain no questions of a sensitive nature, as defined by
OMB guidelines.
Estimate of Cost to the Federal Reserve System
The total annual cost to the Federal Reserve System is minimal for printing, distributing,
and processing. Only the Consumer Satisfaction Survey is administered by mail; the FRCH Consumer Survey, Consumer Online Complaint Form, and the Appraisal Complaint Form are
administered electronically.

6

The average consumer cost of $26 per hour is estimated using data from the BLS Economic News Release (USDL19-0307) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.nr0.htm.

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