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Survey of Finance Companies

Frequently Asked Questions

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About the Survey of Finance Companies

General information
The Survey of Finance Companies is the second stage of a two-stage process to maintain statistically reliable data on the scale and scope of the finance company industry and is conducted every five years. The Federal Reserve launched the first stage of the survey, the 2020 Census of Finance Companies and Other Lenders, in October 2020. The Survey of Finance Companies collects detailed information, as of June 30, 2021, from both assets and liability sides of the balance sheet, along with income and expenses of a finance company, the number of accounts and offices, types of consumer credit offered, and COVID-19 pandemic relief measures that a finance company extended, if any.

Why does the Federal Reserve System conduct the Survey of Finance Companies?
The Survey of Finance Companies will give a comprehensive view of the range of companies in this important sector of the U.S. economy, which provides financing to millions of households and businesses in the United States. Among other things, the results of the Survey will also define the basis for regular statistical activities conducted by the Federal Reserve to monitor the use of credit in the economy.

Is this the first Survey of Finance Companies?
No, your company has been invited to take part in a longstanding survey. The Federal Reserve has conducted a survey of finance companies at approximately five-year intervals for the past 65 years.

What is the definition of a finance company for purposes of this survey?
Finance companies include companies in which 50 percent or more of assets are held in any of the following types of loan or lease assets:

  • Liens on real estate – outstanding balances on loans or leases, for any purpose, secured by liens on real estate
  • Loans and leases not secured by real estate:
    • Business loans and leases – outstanding balances on loans and on leases for commercial and industrial purposes to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises
  • Consumer loans and leases – outstanding balances on loans and on leases for household, family, and other personal expenditures

For purposes of this survey, finance companies do not include commercial banks, cooperative banks, credit unions, investment banks, savings banks, savings and loan institutions, and industrial loan corporations. However, subsidiaries of a bank holding company, savings and loan holding company, or foreign banking organization may be considered finance companies if they satisfy the above criteria.

If I have questions not answered here, whom should I contact?

You are welcome to send an e-mail to [email protected]. If you prefer, please call and leave a message at 1-800-281-4930.

Participation

Is my company required to participate?
No, your participation in this survey is entirely voluntary, but each firm in the survey is important in order to paint a complete portrait of the finance company sector, so we very much hope you will agree to participate.

Is my company too small to participate?
No company is too small. Your company, taken together with other small finance companies, can provide a significant amount of financing to households and businesses, so it is vitally important to the survey that even the smallest of finance companies participate. We expect that this survey will lead to an expanded understanding of this part of the spectrum of companies engaging in financing or leasing.

How does my company benefit from participation?
The Federal Reserve provides some of the only statistics currently available on the finance company sector, and your participation ensures that these statistics are as accurate as possible. Accurate statistics are necessary for informed policy decisions that may affect both finance companies and their customers. The published statistics based on the survey and related statistical activities allow finance companies to see the performance of finance companies overall, the total assets held by the finance company sector, the distribution of those assets among different lending activities, as well as total liabilities, and the distribution of those liabilities across different funding sources.

For access to data on finance company receivables, please visit the Federal Reserve Board's website at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g20/current/g20.htm

For access to data on the finance company sector balance sheet, please visit:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/

Why did my company receive multiple copies of the survey?

If your company uses more than one business name, you may receive multiple copies of the survey. Your branch or subsidiaries may also receive a copy if they responded to the 2020 Census of Finance Companies and Other Lenders. Please submit only one response and email [email protected] with the Unique Company IDs from the other copies you received.

If you are a representative of multiple independent companies located at the same address, please respond on behalf of each company. Please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

The company that the survey was addressed to is no longer in business. What should I do?

Please e-mail [email protected] or call toll free 1-800-281-4930 to leave a message. Please provide the Unique Company ID on the form and mention that the company is out of business.

What if I believe I have received the survey in error?
If you believe you are not a finance company according to the above definition, please contact us at [email protected] or call and leave a message at 1-800-281-4930. Please reference the Unique Company ID provided on your form and the best way to reach you in your correspondence.

Company Privacy

Will my individual response be kept confidential?
The Federal Reserve System regards the individual institution information provided by each respondent as confidential [5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4)]. If it should be determined that any information collected on this form must be released, other than in the aggregate ways that will not reveal the amounts reported by any one institution, respondents will be notified and provided an opportunity to object to disclosure. See 12 CFR 261.17.

Questionnaire

My company has a number of subsidiaries, should their information be included on the form?

All subsidiaries that meet the following consolidation guidelines should be included in the report:

  • Domestic firms. The dollar figures reported in this questionnaire should include only the domestic part of your company's operations, that is—those in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or U.S. dependencies and territories.
  • Finance companies. If your company is part of a larger set of affiliated companies, please include the consolidated operations of the U.S. parent finance company and all finance company affiliates and subsidiaries. Please exclude from the consolidation the operations of any affiliates and subsidiaries that are not finance companies. Please see the above definition of a finance company for this survey.

What is new in this Survey of Finance Companies?

This survey gathers additional information on types of consumer credit or financing offered by finance companies as well as loans or leases OR accommodations to customers for the purpose of COVID-19 pandemic relief.

What types of motor vehicles should be included in the Consumer Motor Vehicle Loans category?

The Consumer Motor Vehicle Loans category includes passenger cars, minivans, vans, sport-utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and other light trucks for personal use. Boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles should NOT be included in this category. Depending on whether the loans for boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles are extended under a revolving credit line or not, they could be reported in the Revolving Consumer Credit or Other Consumer Loans category. This category does not include cash loans for other purposes that are secured by vehicles.

Which loan category should I report if my company is a provider of any of the following types of consumer credit: installment cash loans (personal loans), pawn loans, payday loans, or motor vehicle title loans?

Please check 'Yes' to Question 3.B. (Does your company own consumer loans?) and then fill out the appropriate amount for item 3.B.4. (Other Consumer Loans). This category is for loans for household and personal purposes other than those financing motor vehicles and revolving credit lines.

What's your suggestion for how to fill out this survey?

For your best experience, please review the information and instructions on the survey form and gather your data before completing the survey. Unless noted, questions on this survey require reporting in thousands of dollars.

Proper accounting mandates that total assets must equal total liabilities and equity capital. If they are not equal, please verify that they were computed correctly, and that the sub-items are accurate as well. Completing the survey online offers the additional benefit of validity checks to ensure your data are properly balanced.

I have questions about some of the line items on the form, where can I go for help?
Detailed instructions for each line item are available in the Instructions section. If you need additional assistance, please e-mail [email protected]. Please reference the Unique Company ID provided on your form in your correspondence.

How should my company report Income and Expenses data?
Since the as-of-date is June 30, 2021, please provide Income and Expenses (Question 10, Parts A-L) information for only the first six months of 2021 (January through June). Your best reasonable estimate is appreciated if the level of detail requested is unavailable.

How should I answer question 10.K if my company is classified as an S-Corporation and has limited or no federal or state income tax liability?
If your institution’s tax treatment is structured in such a way that it has no federal or state income tax liability, then you can enter zero. We would appreciate it if you could let us know that your company is an S-Corporation by contacting us at [email protected]. Please reference your Unique Company ID in your correspondence.

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Last Update: December 01, 2021