CFPB Seeks Input on Detecting Discrimination in Mortgage Lending

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on Nov. 16, seeking input on rules implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The CFPB plans to review recent changes to the rules and evaluate their effectiveness. This evaluation will strengthen the CFPB’s ability to maintain a fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory mortgage market.

HMDA, which was originally enacted in 1975, requires many lenders to report information about the home loans for which they receive applications or that they originate or purchase. The public and regulators can use the information to monitor whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities, to assist in distributing public-sector investment so as to attract private investment to areas where it is needed, and to identify possible discriminatory lending patterns. The CFPB maintains an online tool that provides access to the public loan data, allowing users to filter information, create summary tables, download the data, and save their results.

The CFPB is seeking comment from the public to ensure the Bureau can use the data collected under the HMDA Rule to most effectively meet the rule’s goals.

The CFPB is seeking comments on its plans to assess the effectiveness of the HMDA Rule. Specifically, the CFPB will focus on:

• Institutional coverage and transactional coverage;
• Data points;
• Benefits of the new data and disclosure requirements; and
• Operational and compliance costs.

Read the Request for Information released today.

The CFPB’s online HMDA tool is available at: www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda/