[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 6, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17692-17693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06965]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR Part 1003


Rescission of Statement of Policy on Supervisory and Enforcement 
Practices Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Rescission of statement of policy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is 
rescinding the Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices 
Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

DATES: This rescission is applicable on April 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zixta Q. Martinez, Division of 
Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending, at (202) 435-7204. If you 
require this document in an alternative electronic format, please 
contact [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 26, 2020, the Bureau issued a 
statement entitled, ``Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement 
Practices Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act'' (Statement), regarding the Bureau's exercise of its 
supervisory and enforcement discretion in connection to the Home 
Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), 12 U.S.C. 2801 through 2810, and 
Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(a)(1)(ii).\1\ Specifically, the Statement 
provided that until further notice, the Bureau does not intend to cite 
in an examination or initiate an enforcement action against any 
institution for failure to report its HMDA data quarterly, as required 
under Regulation C. Under Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(a)(1)(ii), 
financial institutions that report for the preceding calendar year at 
least 60,000 covered loans and applications (excluding purchased loans) 
must report their HMDA data quarterly (except for the fourth quarter) 
in addition to annually.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_hmda-statement_covid-19_2020-03.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of April 1, 2021, the Statement and 
provides guidance on how entities subject to Regulation C, 12 CFR 
1003.5(a)(1)(ii) should now meet this obligation.
    The Statement expressed the Bureau's recognition of the impact of 
the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers and the operations of many financial 
institutions, the vital role played by mortgage lenders in ensuring 
that consumers have access to credit, as well as the critical 
importance of this access in light of the dramatic effects of the 
pandemic on the finances of consumers. The Bureau therefore believed it 
was necessary to provide financial institutions with flexibility and 
reduce their administrative burden to allow them to focus their 
attention on making sure consumers have access to credit. The Bureau 
has concluded that this tradeoff is no longer necessary. With regard to 
the quarterly filing of HMDA data, the Bureau believes that companies 
have had sufficient time to adapt to the pandemic and should now be 
able to respond to the credit needs of consumers while still complying 
with the quarterly data submission requirement under Regulation C 
without the flexibility afforded under the Statement. The Statement 
noted that entities should continue collecting and recording HMDA data 
in anticipation of making annual data submissions and that entities 
could continue to make quarterly HMDA submissions notwithstanding the 
flexibility extended under the Statement. The Bureau notes that 
approximately half of the financial institutions subject to the 
requirement are now filing their data, choosing not to take advantage 
of the flexibility provided by the Statement. In addition, because the 
Statement did not create binding legal obligations on the Bureau or 
create or confer any substantive rights on external parties, it did not 
create any reasonable reliance interests for industry participants. The 
Bureau never intended the Statement to be permanent, and expressly 
noted that at a later date, the Bureau would provide information as to 
how and when it expects financial institutions subject to the 
requirement would resume quarterly HMDA data submissions. This Policy 
Statement provides that guidance.
    The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of April 1, 2021, the Statement and 
instructs all financial institutions required to file quarterly to do 
so beginning with their 2021 first quarter data, due on or before May 
31, 2021, for all covered loans and applications with a final action 
taken date between January 1 and March 31, 2021. The Bureau does not 
intend to cite in an examination or initiate an enforcement action 
against any entity that did not make the quarterly filing for data 
collected in 2020.
    The Bureau reminds HMDA reporters of the existing safe harbor in 
Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.6(c)(2), that applies to any data financial 
institutions report on

[[Page 17693]]

a quarterly basis. If a financial institution that is required to 
report data quarterly makes a good faith effort to report such data 
fully and accurately within 60 calendar days after the end of each 
calendar quarter, inaccuracies or omissions in quarterly data reported 
do not need to be corrected or completed until the financial 
institution submits its annual loan/application register by March 1 of 
the following calendar year.

Regulatory Requirements

    The Statement constituted a general statement of policy exempt from 
the notice and comment rulemaking requirements of the Administrative 
Procedure Act (APA). It was intended to provide information regarding 
the Bureau's general plans to exercise its supervisory and enforcement 
discretion and did not impose any legal requirements on external 
parties, nor did it create or confer any substantive rights on external 
parties that could be enforceable in any administrative or civil 
proceeding. This rescission likewise is a general statement of policy 
exempt from the notice and comment rulemaking requirements of the APA. 
It is intended to provide information regarding the Bureau's general 
plans to exercise its supervision and enforcement discretion and does 
not impose any legal requirements on external parties or create or 
confer any substantive rights on external parties that could be 
enforceable in any administrative or civil proceedings. No notice of 
proposed rulemaking was originally required in issuing the Statement, 
and it is not required in issuing this rescission. The Regulatory 
Flexibility Act also does not require an initial or final regulatory 
flexibility analysis for this rescission. The Bureau has also 
determined that the rescission of the Statement does not impose any new 
or revise any existing recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure 
requirements on covered entities or members of the public that would be 
collections of information requiring approval by the Office of 
Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

    Dated: March 29, 2021.
David Uejio,
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021-06965 Filed 4-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P