The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) implemented through Reg C provides for the gathering of data to assist in determining if financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities; and to assist in identifying possible discriminatory lending patterns. The following web sites contain information about HUMDA: http://www.federalreserve.gov and http://www.ffiec.gov. The Federal Financial Institution Examination counsel also publishes a “Guide to HMDA Reporting – Getting it Right;” which is currently in its 2024 edition for submissions due March 1, 2025.
HMDA applies to banks, savings associations, credit unions, and other mortgage lending institutions. Certain institutions are exempt from the HMDA for a given calendar year if on the preceding December 31:
•The institution had neither a home office nor a branch office in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA);
•The institution’s total assets were at or below a threshold established by the Board; or
•The institution did not originate or refinance any purchase money loans, secured by a one-to-four family dwelling.
The Bank must collect data regarding applications for, and originations and purchases of dwellings and home improvement loans (including refinancings) for each calendar year. The transactions must be recorded, within thirty calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter in which final action is taken on a loan application.
For HMDA purposes a home improvement loan is a loan made for the purpose, in whole or in part, of repairing, rehabilitating, remodeling, or improving a dwelling or the real property on which it is located that is secured by a lien on a dwelling; or classified by the institution as a home improvement loan.
For HMDA purposes a new loan is a refinancing if it satisfies and replaces an existing loan by the same borrower, in which both the existing loan and the new loan are secured by a lien on a dwelling.
The lender must collect data about the race, ethnicity and sex of the applicant. The data can be collected on the application or on a separate form. If the applicant chooses not to provide the information, the lender must note the data on the basis of visual observation or surname, to the extent possible. If a loan is purchased by the financial institution, the information typically cannot be collected.
A financial institution is not required to report:
•Loans originated or purchased by the financial institution acting in a fiduciary capacity (such as trustee);
•Loans on unimproved land;
•Temporary financing (such as bridge or construction loans). (Financing is temporary if it is designed to be replaced by permanent financing of a much longer term.);
•The purchase of an interest in a pool or loans; or
•The purchase solely of the rights to service loans.
No later than March 1st following the calendar year for which the loan data is compiled, the Bank must deliver its loan register to the appropriate office of its regulatory agency, and must retain a copy for its records for at least three years.
The Bank must also make its mortgage loan disclosure statement and a modified version of its register (extracting certain loan specific information) available to the public.