Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions and answers will be provided to address
common questions about the Call Report and the CDR. The reporting
and technical FAQs will address data processing and submissions,
resources, and availability of data.
If you have common questions about the Call Report and the CDR,
please contact
us.
The FAQs are arranged in order by topic to help you find the
answers to your questions.
Documents
CDR FAQs: PDF
File | Word
File (Updated 10/02/2006)
Getting Started
I forgot my CDR password. How can I reset it?
Log on to https://cdr.ffiec.gov/CDR/public/CDRhelp/fi_INDEX_050901.HTM for simple step-by-step instructions for resetting your password, unlocking your account, changing your profile, or changing your password. Select the “Security” for the instructions.
Return to subject
Return to top
What is my RSSD ID?
Log on to https://cdr.ffiec.gov/CDR/SystemMangement/AccountEnrollment/lookupOrg.aspx for a facility to find your organization’s RSSD ID. Simply enter your organization’s name, FDIC Certificate number, city and/or state.
Return to subject
Return to top
CDR Specific
Are you receiving an error message when attempting to submit your institution's Call Report data? If so, the Security Awareness Training (SAT) certificate you received may have expired.
As you may recall, each new account holder was required to complete the CDR's online SAT prior to accessing the system. The SAT certificate expires once a year; therefore, your account may have expired. If your certificate has expired it must be renewed before you will be able to successfully submit Call Report data for your institution.
In order to renew your certificate you must complete
the SAT in
the CDR. You will be prompted to complete the SAT
upon logon.
Website: https://cdr.ffiec.gov/CDR/
Please contact the CDR Help Desk if you have any questions:
Phone: 1-888-CDR-3111
Fax: 1-301-495-7864
E-mail: CDR.Help@FFIEC.gov
Return to subject
Return to top
How should I check connectivity with the CDR?
Routine connectivity tests should not be conducted in
the CDR production system. Banks should contact their
software vendors to determine if submitting test files
to ensure connectivity is necessary. If so, the CDR has
functionality to receive test submissions. Submissions
of incomplete or test data should only be sent using the
test functionality. Using this feature, only the person
submitting the data receives a notification and the data
are not stored in the production system. Please see the
following web site for detailed instructions on how to
submit test files:
https://cdr.ffiec.gov/CDR/public/CDRhelp/CDRHelp.html
Click on Financial Institutions, Scroll down to the tab
for Data Submission Flow, and Select Submit Test Call
Report.
Return to subject
Return to top
How may I check to see that my Call Report data have been received and accepted by the CDR?
An e-mail notification is sent to the Authorized Officer, Call
Report submitter, and Call Report contact person at the
bank to confirm the receipt and submission status of Call
Report data. Alternatively, a bank may get this information
by directly accessing the CDR web site and in some cases,
through web services features provided by Call Report
software vendors. The receipt confirmation will likely
be available before the submission status since the data
must be edited in the CDR prior to displaying the submission
status. However, the submission status should be available
within a few hours unless the data are submitted during
peak periods such as the time period close to thirty days
after the as-of date. Since vendor software should run
the same edits as the CDR, it is unlikely that data that
pass edits in the software will fail to pass edits in
the CDR. Please see the following web site for detailed
instructions on how to confirm the receipt and submission
status on the CDR web site:
https://cdr.ffiec.gov/CDR/public/CDRhelp/CDRHelp.html
Click on Financial Institutions, Scroll down to the tab
for Data Submission Flow, and Select Submission Status.
Return to subject
Return to top
Will
I receive a confirmation number from the CDR that will
tell me that my Call Report data has been received by
the CDR?
No, with the old Call Report process, EDS (Electronic
Data Systems) provided a confirmation number to confirm
FFIEC Agency receipt of the Call Report. The new CDR Call
Report collection process has a more comprehensive messaging
system and uses e-mail. A notification is sent directly
from the CDR to the financial institution’s points
of contact provided in the Call Report and is considered
the official receipt. This notification should be received
within 8 hours.
Return to subject
Return to top
Can banks enter data directly into
the CDR and not use vendor-provided software?
Banks are not able to enter data directly into the CDR.
The Agencies worked closely with the software vendors
to accommodate the change in submission format. Banks
have the option of developing their own custom Call Report
submission software. Banks must follow the technical
specifications distributed by the Agencies to software
vendors. Copies of these specifications are published
on the FIND web site. Only in emergency situations will
a Call Report analyst be allowed to assist a bank by entering
Call Report data directly into the CDR (for example, when
a natural disaster strikes and a bank cannot use the software
to enter the data).
Return to subject
Return to top
Can you explain more about the Help
Desks?
There are three help desks: (1) a CDR help desk to answer
questions related to CDR user management, submission,
or access issues; (2) separate help desks provided by
each software vendor to respond to Call Report software
issues; and (3) Agencies’ Call Report analysts who
will continue to answer questions on accounting, editing,
and data quality, as in the past.
How to contact the CDR Help Desk:
Phone: 1-888-CDR-3111
Fax: 1-301-495-7864
E-mail:
CDR.Help@FFIEC.gov
CDR Help Desk Hours of Operation:
8:00 AM – 8:00 PM EST Monday through Friday from October 1 through October 31, 2006
CLOSED October 9, 2006, in observance of a federal holiday
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST Sunday October 29, 2006
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST Monday through Friday from November 1 through December 31, 2006
Additional help is available online from the “Help”
link at the top of each screen in the CDR (CDR.FFIEC.Gov/CDR)
and includes:
- Global Enrollment procedures
- New User Account Request procedures
- Reset Password Guidelines
- FAQs
- Glossary
Return to subject
Return to top
Edits and Edit Explanations
Will banks
be given the opportunity to comment on edits for Call Report validation
purposes announced in a formal notice and request for comment
(Federal Register notices)?
No. Banks will not be able to comment on edits announced in a
formal notice and request for comment (Federal Register
notices). All validation criteria, however, will continue to be
posted to the FFIEC web site for public availability. At anytime,
banks may provide comments, suggestions, or questions to the Agencies
through their Call Report analyst or via the FFIEC web site. Banks
will be able to view the Call Report edits at www.ffiec.gov/find/dataaccess.htm.
Return to subject
Return to top
Will edit explanations provided
for quality edits be considered under Agency supervisory programs
that monitor late or inaccurate reporting?
Yes. The Agencies, however, will defer including quality edit
failures under their respective monitoring programs until the
financial institutions and Agencies gain experience with the new
validation process. During this time, Call Report analysts will
answer institutions' questions about entering acceptable edit
explanations and will monitor all submitted data for accurate
reporting.
Return to subject
Return to top
The progressive nature of editing
may cause difficulties in providing edit explanations by the submission
deadline. Often large, complex institutions must go to obscure
areas of the bank or to their overseas offices for an answer.
Will the Agencies accept an explanation that the institution is
researching the answer?
No. The Agencies will hold banks accountable and responsible for the quality of the Call Report data that they submit. When banks prepare their reports, they will need to complete their internal review process at an early enough date—that is, before the submission deadline--so that if there are changes arising from the final review that trigger edit exceptions, there is sufficient time to do any necessary research. The Agencies have posted edit explanation guidelines and reportability concepts on the FIND web site. The current average number of quality edit failures per bank is fairly low (3 to 4).
Return to subject
Return to top
Will edit explanations be made public?
Not in the foreseeable future. Only the Agencies' staff can view
this confidential information in a secure location on the web
site.
Return to subject
Return to top
What happens if a bank submits data
with insufficient quality edit explanations?
If a bank submits quality edit explanations inconsistent with
the criteria published,
the agencies will require the bank to submit a revised explanation.
All edit explanations submitted to the CDR will be reviewed by
Call Report analysts, and the bank will receive a follow-up call,
as appropriate. Call Report analysts will not enter edit explanations
for a bank or revise previously submitted edit explanations.
Return to subject
Return to top
What is the FFIEC process for establishing
edits?
Generally, changes to edits (revisions or additions) are based
on changes to the data items, reporting problems, and edit performance
issues. Changes to edits are jointly developed and reviewed by
the FFIEC Reports Task Force's Data Quality Working Group. All
Call Report software vendors, respondents, and regulatory agencies
have access to the same validation criteria (edits) and should
be applying them uniformly. The validation
criteria are available on the FIND web site at www.ffiec.gov/FIND/dataaccess.htm.
Return to subject
Return to top
Data Availability and Data Publishing
Why is our bank’s data not being published in the Uniform Bank Performance Report (UBPR) sooner?
Over the past several years the FFIEC agencies have substantially changed the distribution procedures for the UBPR by taking advantage of technology that supports faster means of distribution. Since 2004, the reports have been available on the FFIEC web site (www.ffiec.gov/UBPR.htm) free of charge. Individual banks’ reports are available shortly after the banks submit their Call Report data.
Peer Data Statistics. The agencies have considered increasing the frequency of UBPR distribution; however, in an attempt to avoid confusion that could arise from real time changes to the peer statistics, the agencies decided to update the peer data as follows:
- peer groups 3 through 15 are posted shortly after the filing date for banks submitting the FFIEC 041 data and
- peer groups 1 and 2 are posted once all Call Report data are finalized.
For more information on the composition of peer groups, link to the UBPR web site for the Changes to UBPR Peer Groups Effective with March 31, 2004, document: www.ffiec.gov/UBPR_memo_200311.htm
Individual Bank Statistics. The first group of UBPRs, for individual bank data, are usually available as soon as 20 days after the Call Report as-of date (roughly 12-15 days prior to the Call Report due date). After posting this initial group, the FFIEC web site is updated twice weekly (Tuesday and Friday). These updates include UBPRs for all banks that have submitted Call Report data that have passed the required edit checks and have been reviewed by an FFIEC analyst. For this reason, as well as the schedule for Call Report data being extracted to the web site, banks may have to wait a few days before viewing UBPR data online. The sooner banks file Call Report data and respond to inquiries from an FFIEC analyst, if needed, the sooner UBPR data will be available.
Schedule for updating online UBPR: www.ffiec.gov/UBPR_memo_20060620.htm
Return to subject
Return to top
Software & Software Vendors
Does it matter if my Call Report preparation software displays or produces a hardcopy presentation that looks different than the form on the FFIEC web site?
No, the new FFIEC CDR uses an eXtensible Business Reporting
Language (XBRL) presentation (also known as the Call Report
reporting form) and may reflect minor differences when
compared to the historical PDF version of Call Report
form published on the FFIEC web site. All of the software
vendors have received the XBRL presentation through the
CDR. The following are several examples where the XBRL
presentation does not exactly match the PDF version:
- Does not include the same formatting (italic characters,
bold, various font sizes),
- Does not include footnotes that referenced either
a formula or instructions, and
- Does not include additional instructions in the line
numbers (RI-12, Net Income (loss) (sums of items 10
and 11)).
Beginning with the September 30, 2005, Call Report collection,
the XBRL presentation is the authoritative source of the
form and meets all the FFIEC agencies’ presentation
requirements. The signed attestation hardcopy of the Call
Report that is required to be maintained by the bank for
agency review need only be presented in an identifiable
and reviewable format. The FFIEC agencies do not require
the filing of a Call Report reporting form but they do
require the filing of the Call Report data.
Return to subject
Return to top
Does it matter if my new software does not format the data exactly as specified in the Call Report instructions?
No, the Call Report instructions cover the historical format for the appropriate value to report. With the evolution of the XBRL format used by the CDR, a technical specification was developed by the FFIEC agencies to provide identical responses for the same data items. A couple of these examples include:
- Logical business rules based on data reported are now used to determine when a financial institution must report a value for a Call Report item. If an item is not required, then the financial institution does not submit that item. An example of this would be an institution that does not have trust activities. In the past, it was possible for the institution to enter zeros. Now they would not be given the option to report the majority of Schedule RC-T.
- If a push-down accounting change occurred, during the quarter, for Schedule RI, Memo 7, historically a value of “2005/06/30” or ‘00000000” would have been reported. However, with the new XBRL format was changed to an integer type which resulted into an acceptable value of either “0” or a year, month, day format “20050630”.
Return to subject
Return to top
Will software
vendors provide the ability for institutions to copy edit explanations
forward for recurring quality edit exceptions ?
Each vendor will determine the level of service available for their customers and communicate that information to them.
Return to subject
Return to top
How will the Agencies assist banks
that are not using software vendors or banks without Internet
access?
The Agencies are available to assist banks that choose not to use commercially available software in the same ways they have assisted Call Report software vendors. The Agencies have provided Call Report submission file specifications to software vendors and these specifications are posted on the FIND web site. A list of software vendors that participated in CDR testing and implementation is available on this web site. (www.ffiec.gov/FIND/softwarefocusgroup.htm) For more information, read the FAQ regarding in-house development of Call Report software.
Return to subject
Return to top
Is it true that in-house development
of Call Report preparation software by individual banks may not
be possible given the project timeline?
Banks that wish to develop their own Call Report software should contact the Chair of the Software Vendors Focus Group at FFIECCDRQuestions@frb.gov. The Agencies will provide specific information on the requirements to those institutions that are interested in pursuing this option.
Return to subject
Return to top
XBRL and Taxonomies
Will there be wide adoption of the
Call Report taxonomies, and who will manage the official taxonomies
going forward?
XBRL.org and its members recognized several years ago that creating
standard taxonomies is an important and necessary task. At the
same time, however, members have also recognized a need for an
overarching XBRL framework or hierarchy to fulfill the potential
that any standard offers. XBRL.org has therefore developed an
international framework designed to leverage work already completed
in other projects. The Call Report taxonomies currently fit within
the XBRL North American Framework that follows the Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (GAAP) taxonomy. The FFIEC will maintain
and manage the Call Report taxonomies and provide links to the
common concepts contained in parent taxonomies, for example, Bank
and Saving Institution taxonomies under GAAP. Also, the Call Report
taxonomies will be presented to the XBRL Standards Group for recognition
and validation.
Return to subject
Return to top
Is mapping XBRL tags to the general
ledger and subsystems a part of this project?
No. The CDR project focuses on the Call Report component, and
we anticipate that institutions will not need to alter their internal
financial reporting methodology, unless they choose to do so.
The role of XBRL taxonomies is to provide a better means of communicating
the detailed Call Report requirements in a common language to
all interested parties. Under the new CDR model, FFIEC Call Report
requirements--including forms, edits, and instructions--will be
published in a common XBRL syntax that can be electronically transmitted
to and used by the Call Report software vendors.
Return to subject
Return to top
When will other agencies (IRS, SEC,
OTS) implement XBRL?
Currently, the only federal governmental agencies we are aware
of that are implementing XBRL are the FDIC, the Federal Reserve,
and the OCC. We have no information on when other agencies might
implement XBRL.
Return to subject
Return to top