HMDA Final Rule and New
Guidance Released
The first quarter of 2020 provided many developments in the way of final rules related to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA). Doeren Mayhew has outlined some of the major ones below.
Volume-Threshold Exemption Extension Clarification: Partial Exemption
The CFPB extended the temporary loan-volume The following points for depository institutions and
threshold exemption for the HMDA reporting related to
real estate secured open-end lines of credit for another
two years. Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the final rule extended
the temporary loan-volume threshold exemption of 500
open-end lines of credit until Jan. 1, 2022. This means
institutions originating fewer than 500 covered open-end
lines of credit in each of the two preceding calendar years
are not required to collect, record or report HMDA data
associated with open-end lines of credit. insured credit unions covered by the partial exemption
were clarified:
Regulation C, 12 CFR Part 1003, which implements
HMDA, originally required covered institutions to report
HMDA data associated with home equity lines of credit
when the institution originated 100 or more of these
loans in each of the two preceding calendar years. The
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer
Protection Act (EGRRCPA) provided temporary relief by
increasing this volume threshold reporting requirement
to 500 open-end lines of credit for 2018 and 2019. This
temporary adjustment, which was poised to sunset at the
beginning of 2020, is now effective through the end of
2021.
The CFPB has signaled an intent to address, in a separate
final rule, the changes it proposed to the permanent
coverage thresholds for open-end lines of credit and
closed-end mortgage loans. In the interim, the CFPB
believes extending the current temporary increase in
the open-end coverage threshold for an additional two
years will allow it to consider the appropriate level for
the permanent open-end coverage threshold for data
collected beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
12
• Depository institutions and insured credit unions
covered by the partial exemption have the option of
reporting exempt data fields, if all data fields within
any exempt data point are reported.
• Only loans and lines of credit that are otherwise
HMDA reportable count toward the volume thresholds
for the partial exemptions.
• Which data points in Regulation C are covered by the
partial exemptions.
• Institutions covered by the partial exemption that
choose not to report a universal loan identifier (ULI)
can report a non-universal loan identifier (non-ULI),
provided the non-ULI meets form and content
requirements.
• The partial exemption is not available for insured
depository institutions with less than satisfactory
examination histories under the Community
Reinvestment Act.
New Guidance
In mid-February, the Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council (FFIEC) released new guidance for
HMDA reporters. The 2020 edition of the Guide to HMDA
Reporting: Getting It Right! reflects the updates outlined
above and further incorporates content from the HMDA
rule and appendices with information for filers. This guide
was developed by member agencies of the FFIEC and is
located on its website at www.ffiec.cfpb.gov. lll