5 Tips to Prepare for New HMDA Reporting

Last October, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a final rule amending Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The CFPB drafted the amendments in response to specific congressional directives in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and under its discretionary authority to implement HMDA through Regulation C. Broadly, the new rules change:

• Who must report HMDA data, by setting uniform loan-volume thresholds for depository and nondepository institutions, including thresholds for open-end lines of credit
• The data elements that must be reported, by adding new data elements and modifying existing ones
• What types of loans and applications (transactions) must be reported
• When HMDA data must be submitted to the CFPB, for certain large-volume HMDA filers

Given the magnitude of these changes to Regulation C, financial institutions should take steps now to ensure that they are prepared to submit accurate and complete HMDA data under the new rules. Violations of Regulation C can result in administrative sanctions, including fines and resubmission requirements. In addition, inaccurate HMDA data can also impair analyses of an institution’s performance under fair lending laws, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and the Community Reinvestment Act, which may negatively impact an institution.

The following are five tips to consider when preparing for reporting under the new HMDA rule. Most of the CFPB’s changes to Regulation C take effect on Jan. 1, 2018, with certain exceptions, as discussed below.

Tip 1 — Understand How the Effective Dates Work: The CFPB’s final rule contains several effective dates. Not only does an institution need to be aware of these dates, but it also needs to understand how the new rule will apply on each date so that it can plan and implement changes to systems, operations and training accordingly.