[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 236 (Friday, December 9, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30271]


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[Federal Register: December 9, 1994]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 203

[Regulation C; Docket No. R-0839]

 

Home Mortgage Disclosure

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Board is publishing a final rule to amend Regulation C 
(Home Mortgage Disclosure) and to revise the instructions and reporting 
forms that financial institutions must use in complying with the annual 
reporting requirements. The amendments respond to the statutory 
provisions regarding earlier availability of the Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act (HMDA) disclosure statements to the public; provide 
clarifications requested by financial institutions that report under 
HMDA; and are intended to help improve the quality of the HMDA data. 
The amendments require reporting in machine-readable format; require 
institutions to update their loan application registers quarterly 
during the year as data are being collected; and make a number of other 
changes.

DATES: Effective date: January 1, 1995.
    Compliance dates: Compliance is mandatory for paragraphs III.B. and 
III.C. of Appendix A to Part 203, the amendment regarding the 
transmittal sheet, for the submission of calendar year 1995 data, which 
is due no later than March 1, 1996. For all other amendments, 
compliance is mandatory for the collection of data that begins January 
1, 1996, which is to be submitted to supervisory agencies no later than 
March 1, 1997. Institutions may comply with the amendments beginning 
January 1, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Jensen Gell, Staff Attorney, or 
John C. Wood, Senior Attorney, Division of Consumer and Community 
Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, 
DC 20551, at (202) 452-2412 or (202) 452-3667; for the hearing impaired 
only, contact Dorothea Thompson, Telecommunications Device for the 
Deaf, at (202) 452-3544.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Board's Regulation C (12 CFR Part 203) implements the Home 
Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA) (12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.). The 
regulation requires most mortgage lenders located in metropolitan 
statistical areas (MSAs) to report annually to federal supervisory 
agencies, and disclose to the public, information about their home 
mortgage and home improvement lending activity. The reports and 
disclosures cover loan originations, applications that do not result in 
originations (for example, applications that are denied or withdrawn), 
and purchases of loans. Information reported includes the location of 
the property to which the loan or application relates; the race or 
national origin, gender, and income of the applicant; and the type of 
purchaser for loans sold in the secondary market.
    Lenders are required to report data about originations, 
applications, and purchased loans for each calendar year to their 
supervisory agency by March 1 of the following year. The reports are 
made on a HMDA Loan/Application Register (HMDA-LAR) in a transaction-
by-transaction format. The lender's supervisory agency submits the data 
to the Federal Reserve Board, which processes the data on behalf of 
member agencies of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination 
Council (FFIEC) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 
The Board then prepares public disclosure statements for each reporting 
lender. The statements are sent to lenders and the lenders are required 
to make the statements available to the public at their home office and 
at certain branch offices.
    The Board also prepares aggregate disclosure tables covering all 
lenders in each MSA, and sends them, along with the individual lenders' 
disclosure statements, to a central data depository in each MSA. The 
central depositories are usually public libraries, regional planning 
agencies, or other public offices.

II. Summary of Amendments

    In June 1994, the Board proposed amendments to Regulation C (59 FR 
30310, June 13, 1994). Approximately 300 comments were received on the 
proposal. While many commenters supported the proposal, a number raised 
concerns about some of the specific provisions. After reviewing the 
comment letters and upon further analysis the Board is adopting 
amendments to Regulation C.
    A principal reason for amending Regulation C is to make HMDA data 
available to the public earlier than has been the case in the past. 
Statutory amendments to HMDA enacted in 1992 provide that starting with 
the HMDA reports for calendar year 1994, the FFIEC should make every 
effort to ensure that disclosure statements for individual lenders are 
available to the public by July 1 of the following year, and that 
aggregate tables are available at the central depositories by September 
1.
    Another purpose for the amendments is to improve further the 
accuracy of the HMDA data. The accuracy of the HMDA reports has been 
improving from year to year, but concerns continue about data quality. 
Amendments that require institutions to report in machine-readable 
format and to update their HMDA/LARs on a quarterly basis are intended 
to help improve data quality, as well as aid in earlier data 
availability.
    Institutions are expected to accurately compile and check their 
data before submission. Some of the amendments are intended to clarify 
and simplify the reporting requirements, thus facilitating 
institutions' performance of these tasks.
    The Board intends to publish by year-end 1994 a proposed staff 
commentary to Regulation C. The commentary will provide a vehicle for 
interpretations to help lenders better understand and comply with the 
regulation's requirements. The commentary will supplement the 
instructions provided in Appendix A to Regulation C for completion of 
the HMDA-LAR.
    The Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift 
Supervision (OTS) recently proposed to amend their Community 
Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, and included a proposal that would 
require some lenders to collect additional mortgage data (59 FR 51232, 
October 7, 1994). Accordingly, the Board published for comment proposed 
amendments to Regulation C to implement the CRA changes (59 FR 51323); 
the final amendments set forth below do not include final action on 
that HMDA proposal.
    Institutions must comply with the new or changed requirements 
beginning with the collection of data for calendar year 1996, to be 
reported by March 1, 1997; institutions may choose to comply beginning 
January 1, 1995. (For the amendments concerning the transmittal sheet, 
compliance is mandatory beginning with the submission of the 1995 data 
that are due by March 1, 1996.) In other cases, the amendments merely 
clarify existing rules already in effect, with no substantive change, 
and institutions must continue to comply with the existing rule. The 
amendments setting forth such clarifications are those relating to: the 
definition of ``financial institution'' (Sec. 203.2(e)); reporting of 
gross annual income (Sec. 203.4(a)(7)); treatment of counteroffers 
(Appendix A, paragraphs V.A.8.f. and V.B.2.a. and c.); and reporting of 
property location (Appendix A, paragraph V.C.5.).

Section 203.2--Definitions

Paragraph (e)--Financial Institution
    The Board is amending paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) to clarify that 
a refinancing of a home purchase loan is itself a home purchase loan 
for the purposes of this definition. This technical revision (which was 
not addressed in the proposed rule) conforms the regulatory language to 
existing language in the HMDA-LAR instructions (see Appendix A, 
paragraphs I.B., C., and D. of this part).
Paragraph (f)--Home Improvement Loan
    The existing definition of ``home improvement loan'' sets two 
conditions: The stated purpose of the loan is to repair, rehabilitate, 
or remodel a dwelling; and the loan is classified by the financial 
institution as a home improvement loan.
    The Board proposed to define a home improvement loan as a loan 
``stated by the borrower (at the time of the loan application) to be 
for home improvement purposes,'' to broaden the coverage to 
improvements to the real property but not to the ``dwelling'' itself.
    Some commenters expressed concerns that the proposed definition 
would cover only loans expressly stated by the borrower to be for home 
improvement purposes, noting that an applicant might not specifically 
say that a loan is ``for a home improvement purpose.'' Commenters 
suggested deleting the requirement that the borrower ``state'' that a 
loan is for ``home improvement.''
    Based on the comments received and upon further analysis, the Board 
has revised the definition to provide that a home improvement loan is 
one for the purpose of repairing, rehabilitating, remodeling, or 
improving either a dwelling or the real property on which the dwelling 
is located (even if it is not called a ``home improvement'' loan by the 
borrower). For example, a loan that the borrower states is for a 
driveway, detached garage, or landscaping is a home improvement loan 
subject to the regulation.
    The Board proposed to eliminate the second part of the definition--
that the loan be classified in the records of the financial institution 
as a home improvement loan. This revision would have made the manner in 
which an institution classifies a loan irrelevant for HMDA purposes. 
This proposed change was intended to enable an institution to report 
home improvement loans on its HMDA-LAR even if the institution did not 
record them as home improvement loans for other purposes. Commenters 
supporting the proposal noted that loans may be for home improvement 
purposes but may not be ``classified'' in the institution's records as 
home improvement loans.
    Many other commenters requested that the Board not change this part 
of the definition. They said that deleting the classification aspect of 
the home improvement loan definition could work a hardship on 
institutions that do not now classify loans in all their product lines, 
and that would have to adopt procedures to identify which loans are in 
fact used for home improvement purposes. The Board has retained the 
current classification provision. The Board believes, however, that 
institutions wishing to report loans that have a home improvement 
purpose need not make major modifications to their recording procedures 
to meet the definition. Classification can mean that a loan is recorded 
on an institution's books or otherwise identified or coded in some 
manner as a home improvement loan. For example, loans that are 
marketed, ``booked,'' or classified on call reports as home improvement 
loans could be considered ``classified'' as home improvement loans 
under the revised definition.
    Some commenters requested a change in the treatment of a multiple-
purpose loan where a portion is for home improvement. The Board has 
previously interpreted the definition of home improvement loan to mean 
that if more than 50 percent of the proceeds of a loan will be used for 
home improvement purposes, the total loan amount may be reported as a 
home improvement loan. Commenters suggested that compliance would be 
made easier if the Board instead provided that regardless of the amount 
of a multi-purpose loan specified for home improvement purposes, 
institutions may report the loan as a home improvement loan. After 
further analysis, the Board has revised the definition of a home 
improvement loan to provide that if a portion of a loan is for home 
improvement purposes, it may be reported as such, assuming it is 
classified by the institution as a home improvement loan. The Board 
believes that in most instances this revision will not result in 
institutions having to report multipurpose transactions not previously 
reportable, because reporting is still limited to those transactions 
that are classified by an institution as home improvement loans.

Section 203.4--Compilation of Loan Data

Paragraph (a)--Data Format and Itemization
    Maintenance of LARs on current basis. The regulation requires 
covered institutions to report HMDA data for a given calendar year to 
their supervisory agency by March 1 of the following year. The Board 
proposed to require institutions to record transactions on the HMDA-LAR 
within one month after final action is taken (such as origination of a 
loan, or denial or withdrawal of an application). Comment was requested 
on whether any burden caused by a periodic maintenance requirement 
might be reduced if institutions were required to update the HMDA-LAR 
on a quarterly basis.
    Most commenters who addressed the issue stated that it would be 
costly and burdensome to record all the HMDA-LAR information within one 
month after final action. On the other hand, commenters generally 
supported the Board's alternative proposal requiring institutions to 
maintain the HMDA-LAR on a quarterly basis. These commenters believed 
that it would be feasible to update the HMDA-LAR quarterly, noting that 
the OCC requires national banks to update their HMDA-LARs within thirty 
calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter (12 CFR 
27.3(a)(1)(ii)). The FDIC requires institutions it supervises to enter 
all required information on the HMDA-LAR within thirty calendar days of 
final action (12 CFR 338.8(c)).
    The Board believes that quarterly updating will help in improving 
the accuracy and timeliness of the HMDA data without imposing an undue 
compliance burden on institutions. Under the final rule, an institution 
must record transactions within thirty calendar days after the end of 
the calendar quarter in which final action is taken (such as 
origination of a loan, or denial or withdrawal of an application). For 
example, institutions must record by April 30 all transactions in which 
final action is taken during the first quarter. Calendar year 1996 is 
the first year during which quarterly updating will be required.
    Under this final rule, current-year registers will be available to 
examiners so that the supervisory agency can work with the institution 
to ensure that any errors are promptly corrected. Institutions are 
expected to make a good faith effort to enter all data concerning 
transactions completely and accurately. If an examiner finds, on 
reviewing a quarterly update, that some data are incorrect or 
incomplete despite such effort, the error or omission will not 
constitute a violation of Regulation C. The new requirement is intended 
to facilitate early detection of errors by examiners or by the 
institution itself, so that errors can be corrected before the annual 
report is submitted. The Board believes that updating the HMDA-LAR 
within one month after the end of each quarter is an important step 
toward improving the accuracy and timeliness of HMDA reports.
    Institutions should keep in mind that the new Regulation C rule is 
only a minimum requirement and does not supersede stricter updating 
rules that a supervisory agency may impose on institutions under its 
jurisdiction (such as those that the FDIC and the OCC currently have in 
place).
    Reporting income. The Board proposed to revise the regulation to 
clarify how institutions report applicant income. Regulation C 
currently provides that financial institutions shall collect data on 
the ``income relied upon in processing the loan application.'' The 
instructions for completing the HMDA-LAR similarly state that an 
institution must enter the ``gross annual income that your institution 
relied upon in making the credit decision'' (Appendix A, paragraph 
V.D.5.). If no income is ``asked for or relied on'' in the credit 
decision, institutions are instructed to enter ``NA'' (not applicable) 
in the income field (Appendix A, paragraph V.D.5.c.).
    The Board proposed that lenders should report on their HMDA-LAR the 
income reported on the application, including income of coapplicants, 
whether or not the lender relied on a particular source of income to 
qualify the applicant for a certain amount of credit.
    Most commenters opposed the proposed change. Many said that 
reporting all income stated on the application, whether or not relied 
on in the credit decision, would involve significant procedural and 
programming modifications. Commenters believed that expanding the 
income-reporting requirement would increase their burden without a 
commensurate increase in data quality and accuracy. Some commenters 
also suggested that income relied upon serves as a better measure of a 
lender's decision-making process.
    Based on the comments received and further analysis, the Board has 
retained the existing rule. As under the current regulation, the income 
to be reported for HMDA purposes is the income relied on by the 
creditor in making the credit decision.
    Currently lenders need not report income for streamlined 
refinancings or other loans in which they do not ask for, or do not 
rely on, income information. In addition, for privacy reasons, an 
institution need not record applicants' income on the HMDA-LAR for 
loans made to the institution's own employees. These rules will remain 
in place.
    Under Regulation B (12 CFR Part 202), creditors may not discount or 
exclude from consideration the income of an applicant or the spouse of 
an applicant because of a prohibited basis (such as race, color, 
religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age) or because the 
income is derived from part-time employment or an annuity, pension, or 
other retirement benefit. However, creditors may consider the amount 
and probable continuance of any income in evaluating an applicant's 
creditworthiness. This rule applies in reporting income under 
Regulation C; if a lender determines that some portion of the income 
reported by the applicant cannot be verified, is overstated, or is 
unreliable, the lender need not report that income on the LAR.
    In addition, a technical change has been made to Sec. 203.4(a)(7) 
of Regulation C to reflect the instructions for completing the HMDA-
LAR, which specify that lenders must report the gross annual income 
relied upon in making the credit decision.

Section 203.5--Disclosure and Reporting

Paragraph (a)--Reporting to Agency
    Proposed change in reporting deadline. Statutory amendments 
contained in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 provide 
that starting with loan and application data for calendar year 1994, 
the FFIEC shall make ``every effort'' to ensure that individual 
lenders' public disclosure statements are available at the lenders' 
offices before July 1 of the following year. Similarly, the amendments 
call for the FFIEC to make both the individual disclosures and the 
aggregate tables available at the central depositories before September 
1.
    To facilitate earlier availability, the Board proposed to make 
February 1 the deadline for HMDA-LAR submission by lenders to their 
regulatory agencies, instead of March 1. Many commenters expressed 
objections to this proposal and stated that a February 1 deadline would 
be extremely difficult or impossible to meet. Commenters pointed out 
the difficulties already present in the current March 1 deadline, given 
the time required for institutions with large branch networks to 
collect the data in a central location at year-end and review and 
compile the data prior to submission to their regulator. Other 
commenters mentioned the many other reports that are already due at the 
end of January, making it difficult to meet a February 1 deadline for 
HMDA.
    Some commenters questioned whether an earlier deadline was 
necessary to meet the agencies' earlier timetables given the other 
changes that the Board was proposing to make (such as the requirements 
that data be maintained on a current basis and submitted to the 
agencies in an automated, edited format). Some suggested that this 
proposed change could result in less accurate data because there would 
be less time to audit the data and correct any errors.
    Based on the comments received and further analysis, the Board has 
decided not to change the reporting deadline from the current March 1 
date. With the expectation of further efficiencies in the agencies' 
internal processing schedules, the Board believes that adoption of the 
other amendments will assist in meeting the earlier timetables for 
release of data without the proposed change in deadline.
    Reporting in machine-readable format. The Board proposed to require 
that all institutions report HMDA data in machine-readable form and 
that they edit the data before submission, either using agency-supplied 
HMDA software or using the same edits in private vendors' software. The 
proposed change was intended to help lenders ensure submission of 
accurate data. The Board also requested comment on whether requiring 
machine-readable data submission from all institutions would create a 
hardship for some, and if so, whether supervisory agencies should have 
discretion to grant waivers on a case-by-case basis.
    A significant proportion of lending institutions still report HMDA 
data in paper form. For example, among institutions reporting to the 
OCC, 24 percent report in paper form; for institutions reporting to the 
FDIC, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Board, the 
figures are 27 percent, 47 percent, and 20 percent, respectively. Some 
commenters (especially smaller institutions with few transactions to 
report) stated that it would be burdensome for them to report in 
automated form. Many others indicated that they would have no 
difficulty in doing so.
    The Board believes that reporting in machine-readable form should 
not be overly burdensome for most institutions, considering the 
availability of personal-computer software at no cost from most of the 
supervisory agencies and the existence of private vendors that sell 
software for preparing reports or that offer report-preparation 
services. The Board has therefore adopted the requirement for machine-
readable reporting, but is making the requirement applicable to 
calendar year 1996 data. This delay in effective date will enable 
institutions to minimize expenses by allowing them to make changes to 
procedures over a reasonable period of time.
    The Board recognizes that for institutions that have only a few 
lines of data to report, changing over from paper to machine-readable 
reporting could be expensive on a per-transaction basis. Even if the 
cost of computer hardware and software and related costs, such as for 
training, are modest, the costs may outweigh the benefits for a very 
small amount of data. Accordingly, institutions with 25 or fewer line 
entries to report will continue to be permitted to submit their data in 
paper form. (For the 1995 data collection year, the existing rule 
remains in place; lenders reporting more than 100 line entries are 
expected to submit data in machine-readable form.)
    The Board decided against the granting of waivers from the machine-
readable reporting requirement on the grounds that a waiver procedure 
would likely be cumbersome for both agencies and institutions and that 
institutions might not know on a timely enough basis whether they had 
to report in machine-readable form.
Paragraph (e)--Notice of Availability
    The Board has adopted the technical change to Sec. 203.5(e) 
concerning the suggested language for the lenders' notice of 
availability. As discussed in the proposal, amendments contained in the 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 and incorporated into 
Regulation C (58 FR 13403, March 11, 1993) require lending institutions 
to make their loan/application registers available to the public (after 
deleting certain data fields).

Appendix A--Form and Instructions for Completion of HMDA-LAR

II. Required Format and Reporting Procedures

Paragraph A

    As discussed above, the revised regulation requires that HMDA-
covered institutions, except those whose HMDA-LARs contain 25 or fewer 
line entries, submit data in machine-readable form effective with the 
data due on March 1, 1997.

Paragraph E

    A new paragraph II. E. reflects the requirement that the HMDA-LAR 
be updated within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter, 
beginning in calendar year 1996. See the discussion under 
Sec. 203.4(a), above.

III. Submission of HMDA-LAR and Public Release of Data

Paragraphs B and C

Requirement to Report Total HMDA-LAR Entries on Transmittal Sheet
    Regulation C requires that a transmittal sheet accompany an 
institution's HMDA-LAR data submission, containing general information 
such as the name, address, and identifying numbers of the institution. 
The Board proposed to amend the regulation to require financial 
institutions to report on the transmittal sheet the total number of 
line entries included in the data submission, and to send a transmittal 
sheet with the initial and any subsequent submissions of data, rather 
than only with the initial submission. An institution will sometimes 
send HMDA data to its supervisory agency in more than one submission 
when revisions to the initial submission are necessary, for example, or 
because transactions were found to have been inadvertently omitted. The 
proposed changes were intended to reduce the likelihood of any data 
being lost during the collection process.
    The Board has adopted the changes as proposed. The final amendment 
clarifies that the number to be reported on the transmittal sheet is 
the total number of line entries contained in the accompanying 
submission. If the submission is not the first submission of data by an 
institution, the number to be reported is the line-entry count for that 
particular submission, not a cumulative number for all submissions to 
date. For submissions that include line entries representing revisions 
or deletions of previously submitted entries, the number to be reported 
is the total of line entries in that submission (including revisions, 
deletions, entries being resubmitted without change, and entries being 
submitted for the first time).

Paragraph G Posters

    The Board has adopted suggested language for the notice of 
availability that lenders post in their home and branch offices in 
metropolitan areas, to correspond to the technical change made to 
Sec. 203.5(e). The final sentence has been revised to mirror more 
accurately the requirements of Sec. 203.5(b) and (c), indicating that 
the data need only be available in one branch office in each MSA.
    The poster language is optional. Lenders may continue to use their 
existing posters without violating the regulation. When they next 
reprint their poster supplies, they should use language similar to that 
suggested here.

V. Instructions for Completion of Loan/Application Register

A. Application or Loan Information

5. Explanation of Purpose Codes
    Code 2: Home improvement. The HMDA-LAR instructions have been 
revised to reflect the Board's amendments to the definition of home 
improvement loans in Sec. 203.2(f), as discussed above. Paragraphs a. 
and c. under Code 2 have been revised for consistency with this change 
to the regulation.
    Code 3: Refinancings. The regulation requires lenders to report 
refinancings, which are defined as loans that satisfy an existing 
obligation and replace it with a new obligation undertaken by the same 
borrower. The Board sought comment on the exclusion of certain 
refinancings based on the ``predominant purpose'' test. Under this 
test, a refinancing is reported only if the amount outstanding on the 
loan being refinanced, plus the amount of any new money for home 
purchase or home improvement purposes, equals more than 50 percent of 
the total new loan amount. Many commenters suggested that this 50 
percent test could be abolished without making the data collected any 
less useful and that this would greatly ease compliance, thereby 
promoting greater accuracy in reporting. The Board agrees, and has 
revised paragraph c. under Code 3; refinancings may be reported 
regardless of the purpose of, or the amount outstanding on, the 
original loan and regardless of the amount of new money (if any) that 
is for home purchase or home improvement purposes. However, if an 
institution knows that the purpose of the original loan was not home 
purchase or home improvement, the refinancing need not be reported.
    Many commenters noted that to ensure that the collection of data 
under HMDA is related to the housing credit needs of communities (as 
specified in the act), reportable refinancings should be limited to 
those secured by a dwelling. In keeping with the revisions to paragraph 
c. under Code 3, the Board has revised paragraph a. under Code 3 to 
state that only refinancings of loans secured by a lien on residential 
dwellings are to be reported. Therefore, refinancings of unsecured home 
improvement loans will no longer be reported under HMDA.
    While these changes in the reporting of refinancings may result in 
some net increase in the number of refinancings reported, the Board 
believes that the greater ease in determining whether a given 
transaction is to be reported outweighs any additional reporting 
burden.
    In its proposed rule the Board sought comment on whether to require 
the reporting of certain types of loan modifications (sometimes called 
modification, extension, and consolidation agreements or ``MECAs''), 
which are technically not ``refinancings'' but which can be their 
functional equivalent. Some commenters suggested that lenders ought to 
be allowed to report modifications that are truly the functional 
equivalent of refinancings. The Board believes, however, that the 
advantages of a bright-line test for determining whether a transaction 
is to be reported outweigh the benefits of the additional data on 
modifications. Accordingly, the final rule limits reporting of 
refinancings to those that result in the satisfaction of an existing 
obligation and its replacement by a new obligation undertaken by the 
same borrower.
    The Board has made a technical change to the language in paragraph 
a. Previously, paragraph a. stated that refinancings would not be 
reported if, under the loan agreement, a lender was ``unconditionally 
obligated to renew or refinance the obligation,'' or was ``obligated to 
renew or refinance the obligation subject to conditions within the 
borrower's control.'' As the renewal of an existing obligation does not 
involve the satisfaction of that obligation, the Board has deleted this 
language to avoid confusion.
8. Loan Amount
    Paragraphs b, c, and d. Paragraphs b., c., and d. have been revised 
for consistency with the changes, discussed above, regarding home 
improvement loans and refinancings.
    Paragraph f. Paragraph f. has been revised to make clear that a 
counteroffer not accepted by the applicant is to be reported as a 
denial, consistent with new paragraphs B.2.a. and c., discussed below.

B. Action Taken

2. Explanation of Codes
    As was proposed, the final rule clarifies in new paragraphs a. and 
c. (existing paragraphs a. and c. have been redesignated) that 
counteroffers are to be reported as loan denials if the applicant does 
not accept the counteroffer, not as applications withdrawn or approved 
but not accepted. Commenters generally supported the Board's 
interpretation. Some commenters stated that this clarification was 
necessary to conform the treatment of counteroffers in Regulation C 
with the treatment of counteroffers in Regulation B (12 CFR Part 202, 
Equal Credit Opportunity).
    Other commenters were concerned that classifying unaccepted 
counteroffers as denials would not reflect an institution's offer of 
credit, although in a different amount or on different terms from those 
applied for. Some suggested that unaccepted counteroffers should be 
reported as applications approved but not accepted or as withdrawn. 
However, under Regulation C an application that is approved but not 
accepted is one that the lender has approved in the amount and on the 
terms applied for, not in a different amount or on different terms as 
in the case of a counteroffer. A withdrawn application is one that the 
applicant has withdrawn unilaterally and before the lender has 
communicated its decision to the applicant. The Board believes that 
neither of these categories is appropriate for reporting an unaccepted 
counteroffer for HMDA purposes.

C. Property Location

5. Outside-MSA
    Under Regulation C, for loans on property located outside the 
metropolitan areas in which an institution has a home or branch office 
(or outside any MSA), the institution has the option to enter on the 
HMDA-LAR information on the location of the property to which the loan 
relates, or to enter ``NA.'' The Board proposed to revise this 
paragraph to clarify that, if a lender chooses to enter data in the 
property-location fields of the HMDA-LAR for these loans, the data must 
accurately reflect the location of the property in question. The Board 
has adopted the proposal in final form, with additional clarification 
on how the location data are to be entered.
    Under the CRA proposal recently issued for comment (59 FR 51323, 
October 7, 1994), certain depository institutions would have to report 
property location for all their HMDA loan transactions, whether or not 
the property to which the loan relates is located in an MSA in which 
the institution has a home or branch office. Final action is still 
pending on that proposal; the public comment period closed on November 
21.

D. Applicant Information--Race or National Origin, Sex, and Income

5. Income
    The Board is making a technical change in paragraph c., which 
states that if income is not asked for or relied on in a credit 
decision, the creditor should enter ``NA'' for income on the HMDA-LAR. 
The Board has deleted the parenthetical reference to ``no income 
verification'' loans as possibly inaccurate; the Board intends to 
provide guidance on types of loans that would qualify under this 
paragraph in the staff commentary to Regulation C.

III. Other Matters

    In addition to seeking comment on the proposed amendments, the 
Board solicited comment on other matters related to HMDA reporting: 
home equity lines, prequalification programs, and the collection of 
racial or ethnic information. These are discussed below.

Home Equity Lines

    The Board solicited comment on ways in which Regulation C might be 
changed to better address problems of accuracy of the HMDA data. 
Specifically, the Board asked whether allowing or requiring all home-
equity credit lines to be reported--rather than only the portion of a 
line the borrower intended to use for home improvement or home 
purchase--would simplify reporting and therefore bring about greater 
consistency.
    A number of commenters suggested that the Board should allow the 
entire amount of the home-equity credit line to be reported under HMDA, 
regardless of the amount earmarked for home improvement or home 
purchase purposes. They believed that such a change would simplify the 
reporting process. However, other commenters questioned whether 
allowing the entire credit line to be reported is consistent with the 
stated purpose of the act--to determine whether financial institutions 
are meeting their obligations to serve the housing needs of their 
communities. Based on the comments and further analysis, the Board is 
leaving unchanged the reporting rules for home-equity credit lines.

Prequalification Programs

    The Board requested comment on the treatment of prequalifications 
under HMDA. In particular, for denials of prequalification requests 
that are covered by HMDA, questions have been raised about the 
reporting of the loan amount, loan type, and property location data 
fields on the HMDA-LAR. Although ``NA'' is an acceptable entry for 
property location (for example, if the prospective homebuyer has not 
requested financing for a specific property), for loan amount the 
regulation currently does not provide any acceptable code if the 
prospective homebuyer has not requested a particular amount of credit.
    Based on the comments and upon further analysis, the Board has 
determined that for 1994 and 1995 data collection, institutions need 
not report prequalification requests on the HMDA-LAR. The Board expects 
to address issues related to prequalification requests in the staff 
commentaries for Regulations B and C.

Collection of Racial or Ethnic Information

    Regulation C provides that applicants for mortgage and home 
improvement loans be requested, but not required, to provide 
information about their race or national origin, gender, and income. If 
this information is not provided when the application is taken in 
person, the loan officer is required to enter the information on the 
basis of visual observation or surname. The purpose is to gather data 
that may help supervisory agencies determine whether a lending 
institution is complying with the fair lending laws.
    The categories in Regulation C for data collection on race/national 
origin of applicants include the category of ``other.'' The categories 
used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for government 
statistical purposes do not provide that option. Comment was solicited 
on whether the Board should consider deleting the ``other'' category.
    Commenters generally believed that the ``other'' category serves a 
useful purpose. Several commenters expressed the view that providing 
this option helps ensure the integrity of the existing categories. 
These commenters stated that the HMDA data are more useful and accurate 
when persons who believe they do not fit into a specific category are 
not forced into one. Commenters also noted that use of this category 
should not affect HMDA data analysis significantly, because only 45,000 
applicants out of 10 million records (less than half of one percent) 
utilized this option in 1992. The Board has retained the ``other'' 
category for the present. OMB is currently exploring changes that may 
be adopted for use in the decennial census for the year 2000, and is 
expected to announce changes in categories in the next several years. 
The Board will reexamine this matter at that time.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The proposed amendments to Regulation C that the Board published 
for comment in June 1994 were intended to improve the quality of HMDA 
data and make the data available to the public earlier. Many commenters 
supported the objectives of the proposal but thought that some of the 
proposed changes were unnecessarily burdensome. In many cases, 
commenters suggested alternatives that they believed would help achieve 
the objectives of the proposed amendments at a lower cost. The revised 
amendments have been responsive to the advice in the public comments. 
The revised amendments should disrupt current practices much less and 
therefore have lower compliance costs than the changes originally 
proposed. At the same time, the revised amendments would achieve the 
original objective of more accurate and timely HMDA data.

V. Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1980 (44 U.S.C. 35; 5 CFR 1320.13) these revisions have been reviewed 
under the authority delegated to the Federal Reserve Board by the 
Office of Management and Budget, after consideration of the comments 
received during the comment period. Where appropriate, steps were taken 
to minimize any increase in burden.
    The amended regulation revises the transmittal sheet for the HMDA-
LAR by requiring a record count to be included; the Board believes that 
the paperwork expansion associated with this requirement is de minimis. 
The amended regulation requires lenders to file submission in machine-
readable format, with an exception for institutions whose reports 
contain 25 or fewer line entries. The burden associated with machine-
readable reporting is likely to be minimal, particularly given the 
lead-time provided for mandatory compliance. The one-time costs for 
machine-readable reporting will be offset by savings in the ongoing 
costs of reporting.
    The amended regulation requires quarterly updating of the HMDA-LAR. 
Many institutions already maintain their data on an ongoing basis, 
rather than entering all data at year-end. Overall, this change does 
not represent an increase in paperwork burden.
    The amended requirements for reporting refinancings and home 
improvement loans will likely mean that a higher volume of transactions 
will be reported. Lenders will find compliance easier, however, as they 
will have less difficulty in determining whether particular 
refinancings or home improvement loans are covered by HMDA, offsetting 
any marginal increase in the cost of reporting additional transactions. 
Thus, no increased burden should result. The remaining amendments 
clarify existing rules, make minor technical changes, or make changes 
that are optional for institutions, and do not represent an increase in 
paperwork burden.
    Based on its analysis of the impact of the amended regulation, the 
Board believes that there is no net change in the Board's current 
estimate of paperwork burden associated with Regulation C. The public 
reporting burden for collection of the HMDA data is estimated to vary 
from 10 to 10,000 hours per response, with an average of 200 hours per 
response. This includes the time to gather and maintain the data needed 
and to review instructions and complete the information collection.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 203

    Banks, banking, Consumer protection, Federal Reserve System, Home 
mortgage disclosure, Mortgages, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Board amends 12 CFR 
Part 203 as set forth below:

PART 203--HOME MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE (REGULATION C)

    1. The authority citation for Part 203 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 2801-2810.

    2. Section 203.2 is amended by republishing paragraph (e) 
introductory text, and by revising paragraph (e)(1) introductory text, 
and paragraphs (e)(2) and (f) to read as follows:


Sec. 203.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (e) Financial institution means:
    (1) A bank, savings association, or credit union that originated in 
the preceding calendar year a home purchase loan (other than temporary 
financing such as a construction loan), including a refinancing of a 
home purchase loan, secured by a first lien on a one- to four-family 
dwelling if:
* * * * *
    (2) A for-profit mortgage lending institution (other than a bank, 
savings association, or credit union) whose home purchase loan 
originations (including refinancings of home purchase loans) equaled or 
exceeded ten percent of its loan origination volume, measured in 
dollars, in the preceding calendar year.
    (f) Home improvement loan means any loan that:
    (1) Is for the purpose, in whole or in part, of repairing, 
rehabilitating, remodeling, or improving a dwelling or the real 
property on which it is located; and
    (2) Is classified by the financial institution as a home 
improvement loan.
* * * * *
    3. Section 203.4 is amended by revising the second sentence of the 
introductory text in paragraph (a), and paragraph (a)(7), to read as 
follows:


Sec. 203.4  Compilation of loan data.

    (a) Data format and itemization. * * * These transactions shall be 
recorded, within thirty calendar days after the end of each calendar 
quarter in which final action is taken (such as origination or purchase 
of a loan, or denial or withdrawal of an application), on a register in 
the format prescribed in Appendix A of this part and shall include the 
following items:
* * * * *
    (7) The race or national origin and sex of the applicant or 
borrower, and the gross annual income relied upon in processing the 
application.
* * * * *
    4. Section 203.5 is amended by revising paragraph (a), and by 
revising paragraph (e), to read as follows:


Sec. 203.5  Disclosure and reporting.

    (a) Reporting to agency. By March 1 following the calendar year for 
which the loan data are compiled, a financial institution shall send 
its complete loan application register to the agency office specified 
in Appendix A of this part, and shall retain a copy for its records for 
a period of not less than three years.
* * * * *
    (e) Notice of availability. A financial institution shall post a 
general notice about the availability of its HMDA data in the lobbies 
of its home office and any physical branch offices located in an MSA. 
Upon request, it shall promptly provide the location of the 
institution's offices where the statement is available. At its option, 
an institution may include the location in its notice.
    5. Item II. of Appendix A to Part 203 is amended by revising 
paragraph A. and by adding a new paragraph E., as follows:

Appendix A to Part 203--Form and Instructions for Completion of HMDA 
Loan/Application Register

* * * * *

II. Required Format and Reporting Procedures

    A. Institutions must submit data to their supervisory agencies 
in an automated, machine-readable form. The format must conform 
exactly to that of form FR HMDA-LAR, including the order of columns, 
column headings, etc. Contact your federal supervisory agency for 
information regarding procedures and technical specifications for 
automated data submission; in some cases, agencies also make 
software for automated data submission available to institutions. 
The data must be edited before submission, using the edits included 
in the agency-supplied software or equivalent edits in software 
available from vendors or developed in-house. (Institutions that 
report 25 or fewer entries on their HMDA-LAR may collect and report 
the data in paper form. An institution that submits its register in 
nonautomated form must send two copies that are typed or computer 
printed, and must use the format of form FR HMDA-LAR (but need not 
use the form itself). Each page must be numbered, and the total 
number of pages must be given (for example, ``Page 1 of 3'').)
* * * * *
    E. Applications and loans must be recorded on your register 
within thirty calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter in 
which final action (such as origination or purchase of a loan, or 
denial or withdrawal of an application) is taken. The type of 
purchaser for loans sold need not be included in these quarterly 
updates.
* * * * *
    6. Item III. of Appendix A to Part 203 is amended by revising 
paragraphs B., C., and G., as follows:
* * * * *

III. Submission of HMDA-LAR and Public Release of Data

* * * * *
    B. You must submit all required data to your supervisory agency 
in one complete package, with the prescribed transmittal sheet. An 
officer of your institution must certify to the accuracy of the 
data. Any additional data submissions that become necessary (for 
example, because you discover that data were omitted from the 
initial submission, or because revisions are called for) also must 
be accompanied by a transmittal sheet.
    C. The transmittal sheet must state the total number of line 
entries contained in the accompanying data submission. If the data 
submission involves revisions or deletions of previously submitted 
data, state the total of all line entries contained in that 
submission, including both those representing revisions or deletions 
of previously submitted entries, and those that are being 
resubmitted unchanged or are being submitted for the first time. If 
you are a depository institution, you also are asked to provide a 
list of the MSAs where you have a home or branch office.
* * * * *
    G. Posters. Some of the agencies provide HMDA posters that you 
can use to inform the public of the availability of your HMDA data, 
or you may create your own posters. If you print your own, the 
following language is suggested but is not required:

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Notice

    The HMDA data about our residential mortgage lending are 
available for review. The data show geographic distribution of loans 
and applications; race, gender, and income of applicants and 
borrowers; and information about loan approvals and denials. Inquire 
at this office regarding the locations where HMDA data may be 
inspected.
* * * * *
    7. Item V. of Appendix A to Part 203 is amended as follows:
    a. Paragraphs A.5.Code 2 a. and c., A.5. Code 3 a. and c., and A.8. 
b., c., d., and f. are revised;
    b. Paragraphs B.2.a., B.2.b., and B.2.c. are redesignated as 
paragraphs B.2.b., B.2.d., and B.2.e., respectively;
    c. New paragraphs B.2.a. and B.2.c. are added;
    d. Paragraph C.5. is revised; and
    e. Paragraph D.5.c. is revised.
    The revisions and additions read as follows:
* * * * *

V. Instructions for Completion of Loan/Application Register

A. Application or Loan Information

* * * * *

5. Explanation of Purpose Codes

* * * * *
Code 2: Home improvement.
    a. Code 2 applies to loans and applications for loans if (i) a 
portion of the proceeds is to be used for repairing, rehabilitating, 
remodeling, or improving a one- to four-family residential dwelling, 
or the real property upon which it is located, and (ii) the loan is 
classified as a home improvement loan.
* * * * *
    c. At your option, you may report data about home-equity lines 
of credit--even if the credit line is not classified as a home 
improvement loan. If you choose to do so, you may report a home-
equity line of credit as a home improvement loan if some portion of 
the proceeds will be used for home improvement. (See Paragraph 8. 
``Loan amount.'') If you report originations of home-equity lines of 
credit, you must also report applications for such loans that did 
not result in originations.
Code 3: Refinancings.
    a. Use this code for refinancings (and applications for 
refinancings) of loans secured by one- to four-family residential 
dwellings. A refinancing involves the satisfaction of an existing 
obligation that is replaced by a new obligation undertaken by the 
same borrower. But do not report a refinancing if, under the loan 
agreement, you are unconditionally obligated to refinance the 
obligation, or you are obligated to refinance the obligation subject 
to conditions within the borrower's control.
* * * * *
    c. You may report all refinancings of loans secured by one- to 
four-family residential dwellings, regardless of the purpose of or 
amount outstanding on the original loan, and regardless of the 
amount of new money (if any) that is for home purchase or home 
improvement purposes.
* * * * *

8. Loan Amount

* * * * *
    b. For home improvement loans (both originations and purchases), 
you may include unpaid finance charges in the loan amount if that is 
how you record such loans on your books. For a multiple purpose loan 
classified by you as a home improvement loan because it involves a 
home improvement purpose, enter the full amount of the loan, not 
just the amount specified for home improvement.
    c. For home-equity lines of credit (if you have chosen to report 
them), enter as the loan amount only that portion of the line that 
is for home improvement purposes. Report the loan amount for 
applications that did not result in originations in the same manner. 
Report only in the year the line is established.
    d. For refinancings of dwelling-secured loans, indicate the 
total amount of the refinancing, including the amount outstanding on 
the original loan and the amount of new money (if any).
* * * * *
    f. If you make a counteroffer for an amount different from the 
amount initially applied for, and the counteroffer is accepted by 
the applicant, report it as an origination for the amount of the 
loan actually granted. If the applicant turns down the counteroffer 
or fails to respond, report it as a denial for the amount initially 
requested.

B. Action Taken

* * * * *

2. Explanation of Codes

    a. Use code 1 for a loan that is originated, including one 
resulting from a counteroffer (your offer to the applicant to make 
the loan on different terms or in a different amount than initially 
applied for) that the applicant accepts.
* * * * *
    c. Use code 3 when an application is denied. This includes the 
situation when an applicant turns down or fails to respond to your 
counteroffer. Do not report as a withdrawn application or as an 
application that was approved but not accepted.
* * * * *

C. Property Location

* * * * *

5. Outside-MSA

    For loans on property located outside the MSAs in which you have 
a home or branch office (or outside any MSA), you have two options. 
Under option 1, you may enter the MSA, state, and county codes and 
the census tract number. You may enter ``NA'' in the MSA or census 
tract column if no code or number exists for the property. (Codes 
exist for all states and counties.) If you choose option 1, the 
codes and tract number must accurately identify the location for the 
property in question. Under option 2, you may enter ``NA'' in all 
four columns, whether or not the codes or number exist for the 
property.
* * * * *

D. Applicant Information--Race or National Origin, Sex, and Income

* * * * *

5. Income

* * * * *
    c. If no income information is asked for or relied on in the 
credit decision, enter ``NA.''
* * * * *
    8. A Loan/Application Register Transmittal Sheet is added to 
Appendix A to Part 203 immediately following paragraph VI.G., to read 
as follows:
* * * * *

BILLING CODE 6210-01-P

TR09DE94.000


BILLING CODE 6210-01-C

* * * * *
    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, December 5, 1994.
William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 94-30271 Filed 12-8-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P