Message from FDIC and Census Bureau

SBLS-A

(Draft)

A Message from the Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Acting Director, U.S. Census Bureau:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau has selected your financial institution to participate in the 2022 Small Business Lending Survey (SBLS 2022).  This survey is a comprehensive effort by the FDIC to understand bank lending to small businesses in the United States. The FDIC last collected data for the Small Business Lending Survey in 2016. The survey will be administered electronically. Among other things, the survey addresses banks’ small business lending loan processes and underwriting, markets and competition, volume of small business originations, as well as the use of financial technology and the response to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, the FDIC and the U.S. Census Bureau conducted extensive testing with banks to refine this survey and minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents. 

Banks are uniquely poised to meet the credit needs of small businesses, which are an important component of the U.S. economy. Your institution’s participation in the survey will provide valuable information to the FDIC, other policy makers, and the general public about the contribution of U.S. banks to small business lending. 

In the next several weeks, your bank will receive information on how to access the survey.  To ensure that the survey reaches the appropriate person at your bank, please provide the contact information of the person who will serve as your bank’s primary survey contact by completing the Web Form at: [WEB ADDRESS].  

YOUR RESPONSE WILL BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. Information about the authority, confidentiality, and burden of this data collection can be found on the back of this letter.

Visit us online at [WEB ADDRESS 2] for additional information on the Small Business Lending Survey. For further assistance, please call our customer help line at 1-844-868-3662, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Thank you in advance for your time and participation, and for helping the U.S. Census Bureau measure America’s people and economy.

Sincerely,

Jelena McWilliams Ron S. Jarmin 

Chairman Acting Director 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation U.S. Census Bureau 

OMB Number

This collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The eight-digit OMB approval number is 0607-XXXX and appears in the top right corner of each reporting screen. Without this approval, we could not conduct this survey.

Authority and Confidentiality

The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this survey on behalf of the FDIC as authorized by Title 13, United States Code, Section 8(b) and request your voluntary assistance. The Census Bureau will protect the data and information collected from disclosure, in accordance with applicable law. The answers provided by your bank are confidential and reported only in aggregated form. The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.