The CFPB has proposed a rule to improve information reported about the residential mortgage market. According to the CFPB, the rule would shed more light on consumers’ access to mortgage credit by updating the reporting requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, or HMDA, regulations. The CFPB also aims to simplify the reporting process for financial institutions.

HMDA, which was originally enacted in 1975, requires many lenders to report information about the home loans for which they receive applications or that they originate or purchase.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 and identify possible discriminatory lending patterns. The Dodd-Frank Act directed the CFPB to expand the HMDA dataset to include additional information about loans that would be helpful to better understand these aspects of the mortgage market.

In developing the proposed rule, the CFPB reviewed the HMDA reporting requirements. The Bureau is looking to simplify these requirements for financial institutions. The CFPB aims to:
• Standardize the reporting threshold
• Ease reporting requirements for some small banks
• Align reporting requirements with industry data standards
• Improve the electronic reporting process
• Improve data access