We received a question this week about when to expect more HMDA changes. That’s right, more HMDA changes are on the horizon, but we really don’t know when to expect them.
As we reported back in May of 2019, the CFPB has issued two things that could result in more HMDA changes:
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and
An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
NPRM
Overall, the 275 page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) doesn’t provide much that we don’t know already. Most of the proposed rule is just the addition of the CFPB’s August 2018 Interpretive and Procedural rule implementing the partial exemption, as required by ERGGCPA. That said, the biggest change with the NPRM relates to proposed changes for the reporting threshold, both for closed-end and open-end loans.
In other words, future changes may result in your organization no longer being a HMDA filer.
In short, the CFPB is considering raising the reporting threshold for both closed-end and open-end loans. We really don’t know what those thresholds will be as the CFPB has provided a number of alternative options they are considering. For example, the CFPB provided two possible options for increasing the reporting threshold for closed-end loans. Option 1 would adjust the coverage threshold from 25 to 50 closed-end mortgage loans (relieving 745 additional HMDA reporters), while option 2 would increase the coverage threshold to 100 closed-end mortgage loans (relieving 1,682 more institutions from HMDA reporting).
While the original Notice of Proposed Rulemaking planned to implement most changes (possibly including the threshold changes for closed-end mortgage loans) on 1/1/2020, the comment period for the NPRM was extended to October 15, 2019. Therefore, it seems less likely that changes will occur in time for a 1/1/2020 implementation - but one can always hope.
The full NPRM can be found here. The extension of the comment period can be found here.
ANPR
Much shorter than the NPRM, the 16 page Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) Relating to Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C) Data Points and Coverage solicits comment on whether the CFPB should make changes to the data points from the October 2015 final rule that went into effect on 1/1/2018. The ANPR is also soliciting comments relating to the benefits and burdens associated with the reporting of business- or commercial-purpose transactions under Regulation C.
Similar to the NPRM, the comment period of the ANPR has also been extended to October 15, 2019. The full ANPR can be found here. The extension of the comment period can be found here.
