HMDA Quiz

If an applicant chooses not to provide demographic information for an application taken in person, the loan originator must:

1. Inform the applicant that he/she must provide the information before the transaction may continue
2. Select the applicant’s ethnicity, race, and sex using disaggregated categories
3. Note this fact on the form and then determine the applicant’s ethnicity, race, and sex based on visual observation or surname
4. Check the box on the form that says “Information not provided by applicant”

Correct. If an applicant chooses not to provide demographic information for an application taken in person, the loan originator must note this fact on the form and then determine the applicant’s ethnicity, race, and sex based on visual observation or surname.

In 2018, a non-depository institution will be subject to HMDA’s data collection and reporting requirements if it had a home or branch office in an MSA on the preceding December 31 and:

1. Is federally-insured or makes federally-insured loans
2. Meets the asset-size threshold
3. Meets the loan-volume threshold
4. Makes loans intended for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

Correct. If a non-depository institution meets the loan-volume threshold and had a home or branch office in an MSA on the preceding December 31, it will be subject to HMDA’s data collection and reporting requirements. In 2018, there will no longer be an asset-size threshold for non-depository institutions.

The practice of refusing to offer home loans to residents living in particular areas is known as:

1. Loan flopping
2. Reverse redlining
3. Redlining
4. Loan flipping

Correct. The practice of refusing to offer home loans to residents living in particular areas is known as redlining.

The _______ is responsible for enforcing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and for writing implementing regulations, which are known as __________.

1. HUD; Regulation D
2. CFPB; Regulation C
3. FDIC; Regulation Z
4. FTC; Regulation B

Correct. The CFPB is the agency that is responsible for implementing and enforcing HMDA, and the implementing regulations for HMDA are known as Regulation C.

Each of the following descriptions of ethnicity is found on the HMDA data collection form; however, if a loan applicant refuses to self-identify his/her ethnicity, a loan originator is limited to choosing which of the following aggregated descriptions based on the applicant’s appearance or surname?

1. Mexican
2. Hispanic or Latino
3. Puerto Rican
4. Cuban

Correct. When collecting data on the basis of visual observation or surname, loan originators must limit their selections to the aggregated categories. When an applicant elects not to self-identify his/her ethnicity, the loan originator is limited to reporting the applicant’s ethnicity as “Hispanic or Latino” or “Not Hispanic or Latino.”

HMDA After January 2018

In 2018, the reporting requirements  extend to more mortgage transactions. Today 2017 June, the HMDA reporting requirements apply only to closed-end home purchase and home improvement loans and refinances.
As of January 1, 2018, the following loan types will be subject to reporting requirements:

• Closed-end home purchase loans
• Closed-end refinances
• Closed-end home improvement loans
• Open-end mortgages
• Home equity lines of credit
• Reverse mortgages

(12 C.F.R. §1003.2(e))

The applicability of HMDA and Regulation C does not depend on the use of a home as a principal dwelling.  Therefore, even loans that are secured by second homes, vacation homes, or rental properties are subject to the law (Official Interpretations to 12 C.F.R. §1003.2(f), 1.).  Simply stated, HMDA applies to all dwelling-secured loans, and amended Regulation C broadly defines the term “dwelling” to include most residential structures, including detached homes, individual condominium or cooperative units, manufactured homes, multifamily structures, and multifamily communities (12 C.F.R. §1003.2(f)).

Small companies must comply, keep records and report.
Seems like small mortgage banking or brokerages must hire legal
staff to keep up with the law

Exempt  from HMDA’s reporting requirements:

• Loans secured by unimproved or vacant land, unless the lender knows that loan proceeds will be used within two years of closing to construct a dwelling
• Construction loans or bridge loans
• Loans for less than $500
• Loans secured by property used for agricultural purposes
• Loans secured by property used primarily for business or commercial purposes

Other exemptions include transactions for the purchase of servicing rights to a loan, mortgage loans acquired through mergers and acquisitions, and the purchase of mortgage-backed securities. These exemptions are currently scattered throughout the regulations, but the new rules that are effective in 2018 place the HMDA exemptions in Section 1003.3(c) of Regulation C.

Data Collected for HMDA Reporting until December 2017

• Loan information:
  • An identifying number for the loan or loan application
  • The purpose of the loan (home purchase, refinancing, home improvement)
  • Lien status
  • An indication of whether the related dwelling is owner-occupied
  • Loan type (conventional, FHA, VA)
  • Type of dwelling securing the loan (one- to four-family dwelling, multifamily dwelling, manufactured home)
  • Loan amount
  • Application date
  • Action taken on the loan (approval or denial) and date the action is taken
• Location of the property related to the loan application
• Demographic information about the applicant (gender, race, ethnicity, and gross income)
• Loan purchase information
• Loan pricing information (used to identify reverse redlining)
• Denials for pre-approval requests and information on approvals that led to loans 

• 2018,  data collection categories, consisting of the current plus the new categories:
  • Identifiers for loans and lenders: A universal loan identifier made up of 45 alpha-numeric characters will identify the loan or loan application, and a 20-character alpha-numeric code will identify the financial institution involved in the transaction.
  • Underwriting information: The information related to underwriting will include the loan applicant’s credit score, credit scoring model, LTV ratio, DTI ratio, property value, and reason(s) for denying a loan application.
  • Demographic information: In addition to information already reported, loan originators must report an applicant’s age and must offer applicants the option of providing more details on their race and ethnicity.
  • Loan terms and pricing: New rules require the reporting of a loan’s (or a proposed loan’s) APR, difference between the APR and average prime offer rate, loan costs, points, lender credits, amounts disclosed as borrower-paid, interest rate, prepayment penalty provisions, loan term, number of months between origination and rate changes for ARMs, interest-only payments, balloon payments, and any payment provisions resulting in negative amortization.
  • Property information:  address, census tract, value of the property, and its use as a residence, second home, or investment property.
  • Identification of loan originator: Data reported for each transaction must include the NMLS unique identifier of the mortgage loan originator who provided loan origination services for the loan or application.
  • Disposition: Lenders must report approvals, denials, and an applicant’s withdrawal of an application. Denials of requests for preapprovals are also reported, and even if an approval does not lead to the origination of a mortgage, the approval must be reported.
  • Loan application channel: Lenders must indicate whether a consumer submitted an application directly to a lender or to a mortgage broker.
  (12 C.F.R. §1003.4(a))

HMDA

HMDA

Banks and small lenders now monitored by the CFBP

The first step in determining whether a financial institution must comply with HMDA is to establish whether it has a home or branch office in an MSA. Institutions that only operate outside of an MSA are not subject to the law’s data collection and reporting requirements. For example, a financial institution that exclusively serves rural areas is not subject to HMDA.
Financial institutions that are located in an MSA are subject to HMDA requirements if they meet established thresholds. Historically, depository and non-depository institutions have been subject to very different loan-volume and asset-size thresholds, but beginning on January 1, 2018, there will be a uniform loan-volume threshold for both types of institutions.
The new loan-volume threshold for depository and non-depository institutions is:

• The origination of at least 25 closed-end mortgage loans in each of the two preceding calendar years, or
• The origination of at least 100 open-end lines of credit in each of the two preceding calendar years

(12 C.F.R. §§1003.2(g)(1)(v), (g)(2)(ii))

If a non-depository institution meets the loan-volume threshold and had a home or branch office in an MSA on the preceding December 31, it is subject to the data collection and reporting requirements of HMDA. As previously mentioned, in 2018, there will no longer be an asset-size threshold for non-depository institutions (12 C.F.R. §1003.2(g)(2)).

If a depository institution meets the loan volume threshold and home or branch office in an MSA on the preceding December 31, it is subject to HMDA if it also:

• Meets an annually-adjusted asset-size threshold (this threshold will allow small banks and credit unions to escape the burden of HMDA data collection and reporting requirements)
• Originated at least one home purchase loan or refinance of a home purchase loan in the preceding calendar year, and
• Meets one or more:
  • It is a federally insured or regulated institution (e.g. it is an FDIC bank or a Federal Reserve bank)
  • It makes federally insured or guaranteed loans (e.g. FHA loans or VA loans), or
  • It makes loans intended for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

(12 C.F.R. §1003.2(g)(1))

Concern for the decline of urban neighborhoods was a significant factor that led to HMDA’s enactment.  The law and its requirements continue to focus on lenders that are located in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).  An MSA is an urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000, which includes an urban center and surrounding areas that are economically and socially tied to it.  The Office of Management and Budget uses census data to identify MSA