[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 222 (Monday, November 22, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66220-66229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25330]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 222 / Monday, November 22, 2021 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 66220]]



BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR Part 1003

[Docket No. CFPB-2021-0018]


Request for Information Regarding the HMDA Rule Assessment

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notification of assessment; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is 
conducting an assessment of the 2015 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 
(HMDA) Rule and related amendments in accordance with section 1022(d) 
of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-
Frank Act). The Bureau is requesting public comment on its plans for 
the assessment as well as certain recommendations and information that 
may be useful in conducting the planned assessment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2021-
0018, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Comment Intake--HMDA 
Assessment, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20552. Please note that due to circumstances associated 
with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau discourages the submission of 
comments by hand delivery, mail, or courier.
    Instructions: The Bureau encourages the early submission of 
comments. All submissions should include document title and docket 
number. Because paper mail in the Washington, DC, area and at the 
Bureau is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit 
comments electronically. In general, all comments received will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov. In addition, once 
the Bureau's headquarters reopens, comments will be available for 
public inspection and copying at 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 
20552, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 
p.m. Eastern Time. At that time, you can make an appointment to inspect 
the documents by telephoning 202-435-7275.
    All comments, including attachments and other supporting materials, 
will become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. 
Proprietary information or sensitive personal information, such as 
account numbers or Social Security numbers, or names of other 
individuals, should not be included. Comments will not be edited to 
remove any identifying or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine LoPiccalo, Economist, 
Research; Patrick Orr, Policy Analyst, Markets; Shaakira Gold-Ramirez, 
Counsel, or Alexandra Reimelt, Senior Counsel, Regulations; Division of 
Research, Markets, and Regulations at 202-435-7700. If you require this 
document in an alternative electronic format, please contact 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    For over 45 years, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) has 
provided the public with information about how financial institutions 
are serving the housing needs of their communities. Public officials 
use the information available through HMDA to develop and allocate 
housing and community development investments, to respond to market 
failures when necessary, and to monitor whether financial institutions 
may be engaging in discriminatory lending practices. The data are used 
by the mortgage industry to inform business practices, and by local 
communities to ensure that lenders are serving the needs of individual 
neighborhoods. To maintain the data's usefulness in serving its goals, 
HMDA and its implementing Regulation C have been updated and expanded 
over time in response to the changing needs of homeowners and the 
evolution of the mortgage market.
    The Bureau is conducting a voluntary assessment of the final rule 
on HMDA the Bureau issued in October 2015 (2015 HMDA Final Rule) \1\ 
and related amendments (collectively, the HMDA Rule) in order to 
evaluate the effectiveness of the HMDA Rule in meeting its stated goals 
and the purposes and objectives of the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 1022(d) 
of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Bureau to conduct an assessment of 
each significant rule or order adopted by the Bureau under Federal 
consumer financial law.\2\ While the Bureau determined that the HMDA 
Rule is not a significant rule for purposes of section 1022(d), the 
Bureau considers the HMDA Rule to be of sufficient importance to 
support the Bureau conducting a voluntary assessment that complies with 
the requirements of a Dodd-Frank Act assessment. Pursuant to those 
requirements, the Bureau must publish a report of the assessment not 
later than five years after the effective date of such rule or order. 
The assessment must address, among other relevant factors, the rule or 
order's effectiveness in meeting the purposes and objectives of title X 
of the Dodd-Frank Act and the specific goals stated by the Bureau. The 
assessment also must reflect available evidence and any data that the 
Bureau reasonably may collect. Before publishing a report of its 
assessment, the Bureau must invite public comment on recommendations 
for modifying, expanding, or eliminating the significant rule or 
order.\3\
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    \1\ Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C); 80 FR 6612766128 
(Oct. 28, 2015).
    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 5512(d).
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 5512(d).
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    To assess the effectiveness of the HMDA Rule, the Bureau intends to 
focus its evaluation on the following primary topic areas: (1) 
Institutional coverage and transactional coverage; (2) data points; (3) 
benefits of the new data and disclosure requirements; \4\ and (4) 
operational and compliance costs. The Bureau recognizes that it faces 
challenges in its assessment, as it may be difficult to quantify 
certain components such as the benefits of the

[[Page 66221]]

HMDA Rule. The Bureau also recognizes that, across stakeholders, there 
is interest and disagreement over certain aspects of the HMDA Rule, 
including thresholds. The Bureau has revised the institutional and 
transactional coverage thresholds that determine whether financial 
institutions are required to collect, record, and report any HMDA data 
on closed-end mortgage loans or open-end lines of credit in recent 
years. The Bureau also recently published a study on thresholds that 
analyzed differences in lending patterns for lenders below and above 
the 100-loan closed-end threshold set by the 2020 HMDA Final Rule.\5\ 
The Bureau is inviting public comment on these and other relevant 
issues as part of its HMDA assessment. The Bureau views the assessment 
as an opportunity to evaluate whether prior HMDA rulemakings have 
improved upon the data collected, reduced unnecessary burden on 
financial institutions, and streamlined and modernized the manner in 
which financial institutions collect and report HMDA data. The Bureau 
welcomes comments from stakeholders, in particular information and data 
that would produce a more robust evaluation of the costs and benefits 
of the HMDA Rule.
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    \4\ The Bureau considers an evaluation of the balancing test 
used to determine whether and how HMDA data should be modified prior 
to its disclosure to the public to protect applicant and borrower 
privacy to be outside the scope of its assessment of the HMDA Rule.
    \5\ ``A Brief Note on General Lending Patterns of Small to 
Medium Size Closed-end HMDA Reporters,'' HMDA Data Point, June 14, 
2021, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/a-brief-note-on-general-lending-patterns-small-to-medium-size-closed-end-hmda-reporters/.
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    Section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended HMDA and transferred 
HMDA rulemaking authority and other functions from the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) to the Bureau. In the 
2015 HMDA Final Rule, the Bureau implemented the Dodd-Frank Act 
amendments to HMDA and made other changes to Regulation C. Most of the 
2015 HMDA Final Rule took effect on January 1, 2018.\6\ The Bureau 
issued another final rule in 2017 (2017 HMDA Final Rule) amending 
certain requirements adopted in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule.\7\ Most of 
the 2017 HMDA Final Rule provisions also took effect on January 1, 
2018. The Bureau issued an interpretive and procedural rule in 2018 
(2018 HMDA Rule) to implement and clarify the requirements of section 
104(a) of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer 
Protection Act (EGRRCPA), which was enacted in May 2018 and amended 
HMDA by adding partial exemptions from certain reporting 
requirements.\8\ Additionally, the Bureau issued final rules in 2019 
and 2020 (2019 and 2020 HMDA Final Rules, respectively) that amended 
certain aspects of Regulation C after most of the 2015 HMDA Final Rule 
took effect.\9\
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    \6\ 80 FR 66128, 66256-57 (Oct. 28, 2015). The amendments to the 
institutional coverage criteria for depository institutions took 
effect on January 1, 2017. 12 CFR 1003.2(g)(1)(v)(A). The quarterly 
reporting requirements for certain larger-volume institutions took 
effect on January 1, 2020. 12 CFR 1003.5(a)(1)(ii).
    \7\ Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C); 82 FR 43088 (Sept. 
13, 2017).
    \8\ Public Law 115-174, 132 stat. 1296 (2018); Partial 
Exemptions from the Requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 
Under the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer 
Protection Act (Regulation C), 83 FR 45325 (Sept. 7, 2018). The 2018 
HMDA Rule did not amend the text of Regulation C. The Bureau later 
incorporated the interpretations and procedures from the 2018 HMDA 
Rule into Regulation C in the 2019 HMDA Final Rule.
    \9\ Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C), 84 FR 57946 (Oct. 
29, 2019); Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C), 85 FR 28364 (May 
12, 2020).
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    For purposes of this request for information (RFI) and the 
assessment, except as otherwise noted, the Bureau refers to the 2015 
HMDA Final Rule and the subsequent HMDA rules issued in 2017, 2018, 
2019, and 2020 collectively as ``the HMDA Rule''.\10\ Additionally, the 
Bureau believes that, based on the modifications to reporting 
requirements adopted in the 2017, 2018, 2019, and the 2020 rules, it 
may be difficult to isolate the separate effects of each of the 2015 
HMDA Final Rule and the related subsequent rules during this 
assessment. The Bureau has determined that considering all of these 
rules together will facilitate a more meaningful assessment of the HMDA 
Rule. Specifically, the Bureau is incorporating into the assessment all 
rules that implicate calendar-year HMDA data beginning with data 
collected in 2018 through data collected in 2021.
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    \10\ Certain provisions in the 2020 HMDA Final Rule that would 
not go into effect until January 2022, such as the increase in the 
open-end coverage threshold, are not being considered under this 
assessment.
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    As discussed in more detail in part III.B, the Bureau has 
determined that the HMDA Rule is not a significant rule for purposes of 
section 1022(d) and therefore the Bureau is not required to conduct an 
assessment under the Dodd-Frank Act. However, the Bureau considers the 
HMDA Rule to be of sufficient importance to support the Bureau 
conducting a voluntary assessment. In this document, the Bureau is 
requesting public comment on the issues identified below regarding the 
HMDA Rule as part of the planned voluntary assessment.

II. The Assessment Process

    Assessments are for informational purposes only and are not part of 
any formal or informal rulemaking proceedings under the Administrative 
Procedure Act. The Bureau plans to consider relevant comments, 
available data, and any other relevant information as it conducts the 
assessment and prepares an assessment report. The Bureau does not, 
however, expect that it will respond in the assessment report to each 
comment received pursuant to this document. Furthermore, the Bureau 
does not anticipate that the assessment report will include specific 
proposals by the Bureau to modify any rules, although the findings made 
in the assessment may help to inform the Bureau's general understanding 
of implementation costs and regulatory benefits for future 
rulemakings.\11\ Upon completion of the assessment, the Bureau 
anticipates issuing an assessment report not later than January 1, 
2023.
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    \11\ The Bureau announces its rulemaking plans in semiannual 
updates of its rulemaking agenda, which are posted as part of the 
Federal Government's Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory 
Actions. The current Unified Agenda can be found here: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain.
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III. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Rule

    Regulation C implements HMDA, 12 U.S.C. 2801 through 2810. Adopted 
in 1975, HMDA requires certain depository institutions and for-profit 
nondepository institutions to collect, report, and disclose data about 
originations and purchases of mortgage loans, as well as mortgage loan 
applications that do not result in originations (for example, 
applications that are denied or withdrawn). The purposes of HMDA are to 
provide the public with loan data that can be used: (i) To help 
determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs 
of their communities; (ii) to assist public officials in distributing 
public-sector investment so as to attract private investment to areas 
where it is needed; and (iii) to assist in identifying possible 
discriminatory lending patterns and enforcing antidiscrimination 
statutes.\12\
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    \12\ 12 CFR 1003.1.
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    In 2010, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act, which amended HMDA 
and transferred HMDA rulemaking authority and other functions from the 
Board to the Bureau.\13\ Among other changes, the Dodd-Frank Act 
expanded the scope of information relating to mortgage applications and 
loans that institutions

[[Page 66222]]

must compile, maintain, and report under HMDA. This introduction to 
part III provides a high-level overview of each of the rules. The major 
provisions of the HMDA Rule are discussed in more detail in part III.A, 
below.\14\
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    \13\ Public Law 111-203, 124 stat. 1376, 1980, 2035-38, 2097-101 
(2010).
    \14\ For details explaining the rationale behind each of these 
provisions, refer to the preamble discussion in each of the HMDA 
rules.
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    In the 2015 HMDA Final Rule, the Bureau implemented the Dodd-Frank 
Act amendments to HMDA and made other changes to Regulation C. The 2015 
HMDA Final Rule modified the types of institutions and transactions 
subject to Regulation C, including by adopting new loan volume 
thresholds for determining which institutions are covered under 
Regulation C and must report HMDA data for their closed-end mortgage 
loans and open-end lines of credit (coverage thresholds, collectively). 
The 2015 HMDA Final Rule also modified the types of data that 
institutions are required to collect and report by adding new data 
points to Regulation C and revising certain pre-existing data points. 
Additionally, the 2015 HMDA Final Rule revised the processes for 
financial institutions to report and disclose the required data and the 
determination of which data would be publicly disclosed.\15\
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    \15\ 80 FR 66128 (Oct. 28, 2015). As discussed in part III.A.4 
below, the Bureau explained in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule that it 
interpreted HMDA, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, to call for the 
use of a balancing test to determine whether and how HMDA data 
should be modified prior to its disclosure to the public; the Bureau 
applied that balancing test in final policy guidance issued in 
December 2018 that described the loan-level HMDA data the Bureau 
intended to make available to the public. Disclosure of Loan-Level 
HMDA Data, 84 FR 649 (Jan. 31, 2019).
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    In August 2017, the Bureau issued the 2017 HMDA Final Rule, which 
made technical corrections to, and clarified certain requirements 
adopted by, the 2015 HMDA Final Rule. This rule also increased 
temporarily the open-end coverage threshold for calendar years 2018 and 
2019.
    In 2018, Congress enacted the EGRRCPA.\16\ Section 104(a) of the 
EGRRCPA amended HMDA section 304(i) by adding partial exemptions from 
HMDA's requirements for certain insured depository institutions and 
insured credit unions. The EGRRCPA provides that an insured depository 
institution or insured credit union does not need to collect or report 
certain data with respect to its closed-end mortgage loans if it 
originated fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans in each of the two 
preceding calendar years. Similarly, the EGRRCPA provides that an 
insured depository institution or insured credit union does not need to 
collect or report certain data with respect to open-end lines of credit 
if it originated fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit in each of the 
two preceding calendar years. In August 2018, the Bureau issued the 
2018 HMDA Rule to implement and clarify the requirements of section 
104(a) of the EGRRCPA.\17\
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    \16\ Public Law 115-174, 132 stat. 1296 (2018).
    \17\ 83 FR 45325 (Sept. 7, 2018).
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    In October 2019, the Bureau issued the 2019 HMDA Final Rule, which 
extended for two years, until January 1, 2022, the temporary increase 
in the open-end coverage threshold adopted by the 2017 HMDA Final Rule. 
This rule also incorporated into Regulation C the interpretations and 
procedures from the 2018 HMDA Rule and implemented further the 
EGRRCPA.\18\
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    \18\ 84 FR 57946 (Oct. 29, 2019).
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    In April 2020, the Bureau issued the 2020 HMDA Final Rule, which 
increased the closed-end coverage threshold effective July 1, 2020, and 
the permanent level of the open-end coverage threshold effective 
January 1, 2022, upon the expiration of the temporary threshold.\19\
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    \19\ 85 FR 28364 (May 12, 2020).
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    The major provisions of the HMDA Rule are summarized below.

A. Major Provisions of the HMDA Rule

    The HMDA Rule contains four major elements: (1) Institutional 
coverage and loan-volume thresholds; (2) transactional coverage; (3) 
data points; and (4) disclosure and reporting requirements.
1. Institutional Coverage and Loan-Volume Thresholds
    Regulation C requires financial institutions to report HMDA data. 
Section 1003.2(g) defines financial institution for purposes of 
Regulation C and sets forth Regulation C's institutional coverage 
criteria for depository financial institutions and nondepository 
financial institutions.\20\ The HMDA Rule amended the Board's pre-
existing institutional coverage criteria that determine which 
institutions meet the definition of financial institution and are 
required to report HMDA data.
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    \20\ 12 CFR 1003.2(g)(1) (definition of depository financial 
institution); Sec.  1003.2(g)(2) (definition of nondepository 
financial institution).
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    The HMDA Rule includes uniform coverage thresholds based on loan 
origination volume that determine, in part, whether institutions are 
required to collect, record, and report any HMDA data on closed-end 
mortgage loans or open-end lines of credit. Under the institutional 
coverage criteria set forth in the HMDA Rule, depository institutions 
and nondepository institutions are required to report HMDA data if 
they: (1) Meet either the closed-end or open-end coverage threshold in 
each of the two preceding calendar years, and (2) meet all of the other 
applicable criteria for institutional coverage. Financial institutions 
that meet only the closed-end coverage threshold are not required to 
report data on their open-end lines of credit, and financial 
institutions that meet only the open-end coverage threshold are not 
required to report data on their closed-end mortgage loans.\21\
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    \21\ 80 FR 66128, 66173 (Oct. 28, 2015).
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    The Bureau has amended the levels of the coverage thresholds 
several times since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. The 2015 HMDA 
Final Rule set the closed-end coverage threshold at 25 closed-end 
mortgage loans and the open-end coverage threshold at 100 open-end 
lines of credit. As a result, an institution that originated at least 
25 closed-end mortgage loans or at least 100 open-end lines of credit 
in each of the two preceding calendar years, and met all of the other 
applicable criteria for institutional coverage, met the definition of 
financial institution and was required to report HMDA data.
    Prior to the 2015 HMDA Final Rule taking effect, in the 2017 HMDA 
Final Rule the Bureau increased temporarily the open-end coverage 
threshold from 100 to 500 open-end lines of credit for calendar years 
2018 and 2019. In the 2019 HMDA Final Rule, the Bureau extended the 
temporary increase in the open-end coverage threshold for two 
additional years, until January 1, 2022.\22\ Effective January 1, 2022, 
the 2020 HMDA Final Rule sets the open-end coverage threshold at 200 
open-end lines of credit, meaning that financial institutions 
originating at least 200 open-end lines of credit in each of the two 
preceding calendar years must report such data. The 2020 HMDA Final 
Rule also increased the closed-end coverage threshold, from 25 to 100 
closed-end mortgage loans. Effective July 1, 2020, financial 
institutions originating at least 100 closed-end mortgage loans in each 
of the two preceding calendar years must report such data.\23\
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    \22\ 82 FR 43088 (Sept. 13, 2017); 84 FR 57946 (Oct. 29, 2019).
    \23\ 85 FR 28364 (May 12, 2020). On October 9, 2020, the Bureau 
corrected several clerical errors in the Supplementary Information 
to the 2020 HMDA Final Rule, regarding the estimated cost savings in 
annual ongoing costs from various possible closed-end coverage 
thresholds.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP22NO21.004

BILLING CODE 4810-AM-C
    For depository institutions, in addition to adopting the new loan-
volume coverage thresholds, the HMDA Rule retained other pre-existing 
institutional coverage criteria. The pre-existing criteria require 
reporting by depository institutions that: (1) Satisfy an asset-size 
threshold; (2) have a branch or home office in a Metropolitan 
Statistical Area (MSA) on the preceding December 31; (3) satisfy the 
``federally related'' test; and (4) originated at least one first-lien 
home purchase loan or refinancing secured by a one- to four-unit 
dwelling in the previous calendar year.
    For nondepository institutions, the HMDA Rule adopted the new loan-
volume coverage thresholds and removed the pre-existing institutional 
coverage tests based on asset-size or loan originations and total loan 
amounts. The HMDA Rule retained the criterion that the institution had 
a branch or home office in an MSA on the preceding December 31.
2. Transactional Coverage
    HMDA requires financial institutions to collect and report 
information about ``mortgage loans,'' which HMDA section 303(2) defines 
as loans secured by residential real property or home improvement 
loans. In the HMDA Rule, the Bureau modified Regulation C's 
transactional coverage in several ways.
    First, the HMDA Rule requires some financial institutions to report 
data on their open-end lines of credit.\24\ Previously, Regulation C 
allowed, but did not require, reporting of home-equity lines of credit 
and there was no minimum coverage threshold. As discussed in part 
III.A.1 above, the HMDA Rule requires financial institutions that meet 
the loan-volume coverage threshold for open-end lines of credit in each 
of the two preceding calendar years to report data on these 
transactions.
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    \24\ The 2015 HMDA Final Rule defined open-end line of credit as 
an extension of credit that: (1) Is secured by a lien on a dwelling; 
and (2) Is an open-end credit plan as defined in Regulation Z, 12 
CFR 1026.2(a)(20), but without regard to whether the credit is 
consumer credit, as defined in Sec.  1026.2(a)(12), is extended by a 
creditor, as defined in Sec.  1026.2(a)(17), or is extended to a 
consumer, as defined in Sec.  1026.2(a)(11).
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    Additionally, the HMDA Rule moved away from the pre-existing ``loan 
purpose'' test and adopted a dwelling-secured standard for all loans or 
lines of credit that are for personal, family, or household purposes. 
In general, prior to the HMDA Rule, financial institutions were 
required to report information about closed-end applications and loans 
made for one of three purposes: Home improvement, home purchase, or 
refinancing. Under the HMDA Rule, most consumer-purpose extensions of 
credit secured by a lien on a dwelling are subject to Regulation C, 
including closed-end home-equity loans, home-equity lines of credit, 
and reverse mortgages. Regulation C no longer requires reporting of 
home improvement loans that are not secured by a dwelling (i.e., home 
improvement loans that are unsecured or that are secured by some other 
type of collateral).\25\
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    \25\ Under pre-existing Regulation C, closed-end home purchase 
loans and refinancings were required to be reported if they were 
dwelling-secured and closed-end home improvement loans were required 
to be reported whether or not they were dwelling-secured.
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    The HMDA Rule also requires reporting of applications for, and 
originations of, dwelling-secured business- or commercial-purpose 
closed-end mortgage loans and open-end lines of credit for home 
purchase, refinancing, or home improvement purposes. Prior to the HMDA 
Rule, Regulation C covered closed-end, business- or commercial-purpose 
loans made to purchase, refinance, or improve a dwelling. Thus, the 
HMDA Rule revised coverage of business- or commercial-purpose 
transactions by: (1) Adding the dwelling-secured test, and (2) 
requiring reporting of dwelling-secured, business- or commercial-
purpose open-end lines of credit for the purpose of home purchase, 
refinancing, or home improvement.
3. Data Points
    Prior to the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, Regulation C required 
collection and reporting of 22 data points and allowed for optional 
reporting of one data point: The reasons for which an institution 
denied an application (reasons for denial). The 2015 HMDA Final Rule 
implemented the new data points specified in the Dodd-Frank Act, added 
additional data

[[Page 66225]]

points pursuant to the Bureau's discretionary authority under HMDA 
section 304(b)(5) and (6), and revised certain pre-existing Regulation 
C data points. The 2018 HMDA Rule and 2019 HMDA Final Rule clarified 
which of the data points in Regulation C are covered by the EGRRCPA 
partial exemptions.\26\
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    \26\ In May 2019, the Bureau issued an advance notice of 
proposed rulemaking (ANPR) relating to certain data points that the 
Bureau added or revised in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule as well as 
Regulation C's coverage of certain business- or commercial-purpose 
transactions. Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C) Data Points 
and Coverage, 84 FR 20049 (May 8, 2019). In June 2021, the Bureau 
announced that it was no longer pursuing a proposed rulemaking 
following up on this ANPR in light of its other rulemaking 
priorities.
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    In the 2015 HMDA Final Rule, the Bureau added the following data 
points to Regulation C to implement specific provisions added by the 
Dodd-Frank Act in HMDA section 304(b)(4), (5)(A) through (C), and 
(6)(A) through (I): Universal loan identifier (ULI); \27\ property 
address; age of the applicant/borrower; rate spread for all loans; \28\ 
credit score; total loan costs or total points and fees; prepayment 
penalty term; loan term; introductory rate period; non-amortizing 
features; property value; application channel; and mortgage loan 
originator identifier.\29\
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    \27\ Prior to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Board 
required reporting of an identifying number for the loan or 
application but did not require that the identifier be universal. 
HMDA section 304(b)(6)(G) requires reporting of, ``as the Bureau may 
determine to be appropriate, a universal loan identifier.''
    \28\ Prior to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Board 
required financial institutions to report rate spread for higher-
priced mortgage loans. 67 FR 7222 (Feb. 15, 2002); 67 FR 43218 (June 
27, 2002). HMDA section 304(b)(5)(B) requires reporting of rate 
spread for all loans.
    \29\ 12 CFR 1003.4(a)(1)(i), (a)(9)(i), (a)(10)(ii), and 
(a)(12), (15), (17), (22), (25) through (28), and (33) and (34).
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    Additionally, the 2015 HMDA Final Rule added the following 
additional data points pursuant to the Bureau's discretionary authority 
under HMDA section 304(b)(5) and (6): Reasons for denial, which were 
optionally reported under the Board's rule but became mandatory in the 
HMDA Rule; the total origination charges associated with the loan 
(origination charges); the total points paid to the lender to reduce 
the interest rate of the loan (discount points); the amount of lender 
credits; the interest rate applicable at closing or account opening; 
the debt-to-income ratio; the ratio of the total amount of debt secured 
by the property to the value of the property (combined loan-to-value 
ratio); for transactions involving manufactured homes, whether the loan 
or application is or would have been secured by a manufactured home and 
land or by a manufactured home and not land (manufactured home secured 
property type); the land property interest for loans or applications 
related to manufactured housing (manufactured home land property 
interest); the number of individual dwellings units that are income-
restricted pursuant to Federal, State, or local affordable housing 
programs (multifamily affordable units); information related to the 
automated underwriting system used in evaluating an application and the 
result generated by the automated underwriting system; whether the loan 
is a reverse mortgage; whether the loan is an open-end line of credit; 
and whether the loan is primarily for a business or commercial 
purpose.\30\
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    \30\ 12 CFR 1003.4(a)(16), (18) through (21), (23) and (24), 
(29) and (30), (32), and (35) through (38).
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    The 2015 HMDA Final Rule also revised certain pre-existing 
Regulation C data points to provide for greater specificity or 
additional information in reporting.\31\
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    \31\ These data points include the following: The purpose of the 
loan or application; occupancy type; ethnicity; race; and legal 
entity identifier (LEI).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data points added by 2015 HMDA final  Data points added by 2015 HMDA final    Data points revised by 2015 HMDA
  rule to implement Dodd-Frank Act       rule pursuant to discretionary       final rule to require additional
            requirements                            authority                            information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Universal Loan Identifier     Reasons for Denial            Loan Purpose
 (ULI)                                 Origination Charges           Occupancy Type
 Property Address              Discount Points               Ethnicity
 Age (applicant/borrower)      Lender Credits                Race
 Rate Spread                   Interest Rate                 Legal Entity Identifier
 Credit Score                  Debt-to-Income Ratio
 Total Loan Costs or Total     Combined Loan-to-Value
 Points and Fees                       Ratio
 Prepayment Penalty Term
 Loan Term                     Manufactured Home Secured
 Introductory Rate Period      Property Type
 Non-Amortizing Features       Manufactured Home Land
                                       Property Interest
 Property Value                Multifamily Affordable
                                       Units
 Application Channel           Automated Underwriting
                                       System
 Mortgage Loan Originator      Reverse Mortgage Flag
 Identifier
                                       Open-End Line of Credit
                                       Flag
                                       Business or Commercial
                                       Purpose Flag
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed above, the EGRRCPA provides certain institutions 
partial exemptions from reporting certain data. As amended by the 
EGRRCPA, HMDA section 304(i)(1) provides that the requirements of HMDA 
section 304(b)(5) and (6) shall not apply with respect to closed-end 
mortgage loans of an insured depository institution or insured credit 
union if it originated fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans in each 
of the two preceding calendar years. Additionally, HMDA section 
304(i)(2) provides that the requirements of HMDA section 304(b)(5) and 
(6) shall not apply with respect to open-end lines of credit of an 
insured depository institution or insured credit union if it originated 
fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit in each of the two preceding 
calendar years. Notwithstanding the partial exemptions under the 
EGRRCPA, HMDA section 304(i)(3) provides that an insured depository 
institution must comply with HMDA section 304(b)(5) and (6) if it has 
received a rating of ``needs to improve record of meeting community 
credit needs'' during each of its two most recent examinations or a 
rating of ``substantial noncompliance in meeting community credit 
needs'' on its most recent examination under section 807(b)(2) of the 
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ 12 U.S.C. 2906(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The 2018 HMDA Rule and the 2019 HMDA Final Rule specify that the 
following data points do not need to be collected and reported if a 
transaction qualifies for a partial exemption under the EGRRCPA: ULI; 
property address; rate spread; credit score; reasons for

[[Page 66226]]

denial; \33\ total loan costs or total points and fees; origination 
charges; discount points; the amount of lender credits; the interest 
rate applicable at closing or account opening; prepayment penalty term; 
the debt-to-income ratio; the combined loan-to-value ratio; loan term; 
introductory rate period; non-amortizing features; property value; 
manufactured home secured property type; manufactured home land 
property interest; multifamily affordable units; application channel; 
mortgage loan originator identifier; information related to the 
automated underwriting system used in evaluating an application and the 
result generated by the automated underwriting system; whether the loan 
is a reverse mortgage; whether the loan is an open-end line of credit; 
and whether the loan is primarily for a business or commercial purpose.
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    \33\ Financial institutions regulated by the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are required to report reasons for 
denial on their HMDA loan/application registers pursuant to 12 CFR 
27.3(a)(1)(i) and 128.6. Similarly, pursuant to regulations 
transferred from the Office of Thrift Supervision, certain financial 
institutions supervised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
(FDIC) are required to report reasons for denial on their HMDA loan/
application registers. 12 CFR 390.147.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Data points covered by the EGRRCPA     Data points not covered by the
         partial exemptions               EGRRCPA partial exemptions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Universal Loan Identifie     Application Date
 Property Address             Loan Type
 Rate Spread                  Loan Purpose
 Credit Score                 Preapproval
 Reasons for Denial           Construction Method
 Total Loan Costs or Total    Occupancy Type
 Points and Fees
 Origination Charges          Loan Amount
 Discount Points              Action Taken
 Lender Credits               Action Taken Date
 Interest Rate                State
 Prepayment Penalty Term      County
 Debt-to-Income Ratio         Census Tract
 Combined Loan-to-Value       Ethnicity
 Ratio
 Loan Term                    Race
 Introductory Rate Period     Sex
 Non-Amortizing Features      Age (applicant/borrower)
 Property Value               Income
 Manufactured Home Secured    Type of Purchaser
 Property Type                        Home Ownership and Equity
 Manufactured Home Land       Protection Act (HOEPA) Status
 Property Interest                    Lien Status
 Multifamily Affordable       Number of Units
 Units                                Legal Entity Identifier
 Application Channel
 Mortgage Loan Originator
 Identifier
 Automated Underwriting
 System
 Reverse Mortgage Flag
 Open-End Line of Credit
 Flag
 Business or Commercial
 Purpose Flag
------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Disclosure and Reporting
    HMDA and Regulation C require that data collected and reported by 
financial institutions in a given calendar year be made available to 
the public the following year in both aggregate and loan-level formats. 
The HMDA Rule addressed the public disclosure of HMDA data in two 
primary ways. First, it shifted public disclosure of HMDA data entirely 
to the agencies. Beginning with HMDA data collected in 2017, financial 
institutions were no longer required to provide their modified loan/
application registers and disclosure statements directly to the public. 
Instead, they were required only to provide a notice advising members 
of the public seeking their data that the data may be obtained on the 
Bureau's website. Second, the HMDA Rule interpreted HMDA, as amended by 
the Dodd-Frank Act, to require that the Bureau use a balancing test to 
determine whether and how HMDA data should be modified prior to its 
disclosure to the public to protect applicant and borrower privacy 
while also fulfilling HMDA's public disclosure purposes. The Bureau 
interpreted these changes to require that public HMDA data be modified 
when the release of the unmodified data creates risks to applicant and 
borrower privacy interests that are not justified by the benefits of 
such release to the public in light of HMDA's statutory purposes. In 
December 2018, the Bureau issued final policy guidance on its website 
describing the loan-level HMDA data it intends to make available to the 
public, including modifications to be applied to the data.\34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ 84 FR 649 (Jan. 31, 2019). This final policy guidance will 
not be covered by the assessment of the HMDA Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The HMDA Rule retained the pre-existing requirement that financial 
institutions submit their HMDA data to the appropriate Federal agency 
by March 1 following the calendar year for which the data are 
collected. The HMDA Rule additionally requires that financial 
institutions that reported for the preceding calendar year at least 
60,000 covered loans and applications combined, excluding purchased 
covered loans, also submit their data for the following calendar year 
to the appropriate Federal agency on a quarterly basis.

B. Significant Rule Determination

    The Bureau has determined that the HMDA Rule, comprised of the 2015 
HMDA Final Rule and the related later amendments, considered both 
individually and together, is not a significant rule for purposes of 
Dodd-Frank Act section 1022(d).\35\ The Bureau made this determination 
based on a number of factors, including the estimated annual costs to 
industry of complying with the HMDA Rule, and limited or undetectable 
effects of the rule on mortgage features, mortgage

[[Page 66227]]

industry operations, and the price and availability of mortgages.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ For more information on how the Bureau determines a rule's 
significance for purposes of section 1022(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act, 
see U.S. Gov't Accountability Office, Dodd-Frank Regulations: 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Needs a Systematic Process to 
Prioritize Consumer Risks, December 2018, https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696200.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Bureau's 2015 HMDA Final Rule presented a basic framework of 
analyzing compliance costs for HMDA reporting, including ongoing costs 
and one-time costs for financial institutions.\36\ A 1022(b)(2) cost-
benefit analysis in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule estimated that the bulk of 
the costs associated with the rule derived from one-time implementation 
and not ongoing annual costs.\37\ The Bureau estimated the 2015 HMDA 
Final Rule would result in ongoing costs of the rule of $53.6 million 
to $68.3 million per year for all reporters, as compared to one-time 
and start-up costs of between $177 million and $326.6 million per 
year.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996 (SBREFA), as amended by section 1100G(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act, 
requires the Bureau to convene a Small Business Review Panel before 
proposing a rule that may have significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. See Public Law 104-121, tit. 
II, 110 stat. 847, 857 (1996) as amended by Public Law 110-28, and 
Public Law 111-203, section 1100G (2010).
    \37\ 80 FR 66128, 66265-66 (Oct. 28, 2015).
    \38\ The Bureau's 1022(b) analysis in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule 
annualized one-time and start-up costs using a 7 percent discount 
rate and 5-year amortization window. Generally, for the subsequent 
2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 HMDA rules, the Bureau estimated that 
changes in thresholds and other requirements would represent savings 
in ongoing costs for affected entities. Although affected entities 
would incur additional one-time costs from the adjustment to new 
HMDA requirements, the Bureau estimated these would be negligible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Bureau considered qualitative factors as well. As a data 
collection rule, the HMDA reporting requirements have had little direct 
impact on the features of consumer financial products and services. 
Financial institutions' HMDA operations are mostly for compliance 
purposes, and neither the 2015 HMDA Final Rule nor any of the 
amendments materially affected institutions' underlying operations for 
originating mortgages.
    The Bureau also considered the effects of the HMDA Rule on the 
market in making its determination. In the 2015 HMDA Final Rule, the 
Bureau explored whether covered entities passed through increased 
compliance costs to consumers and found the impact to be 
negligible.\39\ The Bureau also considered in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule 
whether the new reporting requirements would cause smaller institutions 
to exit the mortgage market, either for closed-end mortgage loans or 
for open-end lines of credit. The Bureau is not aware of evidence that 
the 2015 HMDA Final Rule, or any related amendments, caused some 
lenders to leave the market or inhibited any lenders from entering the 
market, resulting in a decline in consumers' access to credit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ Generally, for the subsequent 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 
HMDA rules, the Bureau estimated that changes in thresholds and 
other requirements would represent savings in ongoing costs for 
affected entities. Although affected entities would incur additional 
one-time costs from the adjustment to new HMDA requirements, the 
Bureau estimated these would be negligible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Taking these factors into consideration, the Bureau concluded that 
the HMDA Rule is not significant for purposes of section 1022(d) of the 
Dodd-Frank Act. Therefore, the Bureau is not required to conduct an 
assessment of the HMDA Rule under section 1022(d). The Bureau 
recognizes the importance of the HMDA Rule, however, and believes that 
the public would benefit from the Bureau conducting a voluntary 
assessment. The Bureau also previously noted that it would be doing an 
assessment of this rulemaking.\40\ For all of these reasons, the Bureau 
has decided to conduct a voluntary assessment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \40\ 80 FR 66269 (Oct. 28, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. The Assessment Plan

    The assessment will address, among other relevant factors, the HMDA 
Rule's effectiveness in meeting the purposes and objectives of title X 
of the Dodd-Frank Act and the specific goals of the HMDA Rule as stated 
by the Bureau. Each is discussed below.

A. Purposes and Objectives of Title X

    Section 1021 of the Dodd-Frank Act states that the Bureau shall 
seek to implement and, where applicable, enforce Federal consumer 
financial law consistently for the purpose of ensuring that all 
consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and 
services and that markets for consumer financial products and services 
are fair, transparent, and competitive.\41\ Section 1021 also sets 
forth the Bureau's objectives, which are to exercise its authorities 
under Federal consumer financial law for the purposes of ensuring that, 
with respect to consumer financial products and services:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ 12 U.S.C. 2603(a), 15 U.S.C. 1604(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (a) Consumers are provided with timely and understandable 
information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions;
    (b) Consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts 
and practices and from discrimination;
    (c) Outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations are 
regularly identified and addressed in order to reduce unwarranted 
regulatory burdens;
    (d) Federal consumer financial law is enforced consistently, 
without regard to the status of a person as a depository institution, 
in order to promote fair competition; and
    (e) Markets for consumer financial products and services operate 
transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.\42\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1)-(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Specific Goals of the HMDA Rule

    Congress enacted HMDA in 1975 to create transparency in the 
mortgage market.\43\ As originally adopted, HMDA identifies its 
purposes as providing the public and public officials with information 
to help determine whether financial institutions are serving the 
housing needs of the communities in which they are located, and to 
assist public officials in their determination of the distribution of 
public sector investments in a manner designed to improve the private 
investment environment.\44\ Congress later expanded HMDA to, among 
other things, require financial institutions to report racial 
characteristics, gender, and income information on applicants and 
borrowers.\45\ In light of these amendments, the Board subsequently 
recognized a third HMDA purpose of identifying possible discriminatory 
lending patterns and enforcing antidiscrimination statutes, which now 
appears with HMDA's other purposes in Regulation C.\46\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ 80 FR 66127, 66130 (Oct. 28, 2015).
    \44\ HMDA section 302(b), 12 U.S.C. 2801(b); see also 12 CFR 
1003.1(b)(1)(i)-(ii).
    \45\ Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement 
Act of 1989, Public Law 101-73, section 1211 (``Fair lending 
oversight and enforcement'' section), 103 stat. 183, 524-26 (1989).
    \46\ 54 FR 51356, 51357 (Dec. 15, 1989), codified at 12 CFR 
1003.1(b)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In 2015, the Bureau issued amendments to Regulation C to implement 
the Dodd-Frank Act amendments to HMDA, better achieve HMDA's purposes 
in light of current market conditions, and reduce unnecessary burden on 
financial institutions. At that time, the Bureau noted that HMDA and 
Regulation C have been updated and expanded over time in order to 
maintain the data's usefulness in response to the changing needs of 
homeowners and evolution in the mortgage market.\47\ The Bureau also 
stated that the HMDA data must be updated in order to address the 
informational shortcomings exposed by the financial crisis and to meet 
the needs of homeowners, potential

[[Page 66228]]

homeowners, and neighborhoods throughout the nation.\48\ The 2015 HMDA 
Final Rule thus sought to address gaps in the HMDA data regarding 
certain segments of the market. The Bureau issued subsequent amendments 
to clarify further Regulation C's requirements and reduce burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \47\ 80 FR 66127, 66129 (Oct. 28, 2015).
    \48\ Id. at 66130.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As previously stated, for purposes of this RFI and assessment 
(except as otherwise noted), the Bureau refers to the 2015 HMDA Final 
Rule and the subsequent HMDA rules issued in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 
2020, collectively as ``the HMDA Rule.'' \49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \49\ Certain provisions in the 2020 HMDA Final Rule that would 
not go into effect until January 2022, such as the increase in the 
open-end coverage threshold, will be not considered under this 
assessment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Scope and Approach

    To assess the effectiveness of the HMDA Rule in meeting these 
purposes, objectives and goals, the Bureau is undertaking a voluntary 
assessment that is consistent with the requirements of a statutory 
assessment under Dodd-Frank Act section 1022(d). Specifically, the 
Bureau intends to focus its evaluation of the HMDA Rule on the 
following primary topic areas: (1) Institutional coverage and 
transactional coverage; (2) data points; (3) benefits of the new data 
and disclosure requirements; \50\ and (4) operational and compliance 
costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ The Bureau considers an evaluation of the balancing test 
used to determine whether and how HMDA data should be modified prior 
to its disclosure to the public to protect applicant and borrower 
privacy to be outside the scope of its assessment of the HMDA Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To assess the HMDA Rule, the Bureau plans to analyze a variety of 
metrics and data to the extent feasible. Feasibility will depend on the 
data and information available to the Bureau as well as any information 
and data submitted in response to this request for comment. The Bureau 
plans to investigate the operational and compliance costs of the rule. 
The Bureau will work from the methods and findings it published with 
the cost-benefit analysis in the 2015 HMDA Final Rule. The Bureau will 
also use comments responding to this request for information to 
determine whether those methods and findings remain valid. The Bureau 
is interested in any information about activities and outcomes 
including the ones listed below and is interested in understanding how 
these activities and outcomes relate to each other:
    (1) Industry outcomes that the HMDA Rule may have affected, 
including the number and types of reporters, the number of loans, and 
the dollar amounts for reported open-end lines of credit and closed-end 
mortgage loans;
    (2) The activities undertaken by financial institutions to comply 
with the HMDA Rule's criteria, as well as the adoption of loan-volume 
coverage thresholds, adoption of new and revised data points, and 
revisions to transactional coverage, including mandatory reporting of 
open-end lines of credit and the adoption of a dwelling-secured 
standard;
    (3) Overall benefits and other outcomes that the HMDA Rule sought 
to affect, including whether the HMDA Rule has brought greater 
transparency to the mortgage market, has helped determine whether 
financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their 
communities, has assisted public officials in distributing public-
sector investment so as to attract private investment to areas where it 
is needed, assisted in identifying possible discriminatory lending 
patterns and enforcing antidiscrimination statutes, and addressed gaps 
in the HMDA data regarding certain segments of the market;
    (4) An evaluation of the benefits and costs of the new and revised 
data points, and the benefits and costs of new data reported under the 
revised coverage thresholds; and
    (5) The HMDA Rule's effect on the operational and compliance costs 
for financial institutions, including activities covered institutions 
conducted to collect and report new and revised data points.
    The Bureau plans to conduct or has begun conducting several 
research analyses in connection with this assessment. Other research 
analyses may also be considered as appropriate. In conducting the 
assessment, the Bureau will evaluate the association between the 
requirements of the HMDA Rule and the HMDA Rule's stated purposes, 
goals, and objectives.
    The Bureau will consider analysis related to loan originations, 
applications, prices, and the number of reporters using available data. 
The currently available data includes HMDA data, third-party servicing 
data, Fannie/Freddie public loan level data, and the National Mortgage 
Database (NMDB).\51\ In addition, the Bureau is planning on utilizing 
responses to this request for information as appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \51\ The NMDB is an ongoing project, jointly undertaken by the 
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Bureau, with the goal 
of providing the public and regulatory agencies with data that does 
not include any personally identifiable information but that 
otherwise may service as a comprehensive resource about the U.S. 
mortgage market. The core data in the NMDB are drawn from a random, 
personally anonymous, 1-in-20 sample of all credit bureau records 
associated with a closed-end, first-lien mortgage, updated 
quarterly. Mortgages, after being unlinked from any personally 
identifiable information or characteristics that could be traced 
back to any borrower, are followed in the NMDB database until they 
terminate through prepayment (including refinancing), foreclosure, 
or maturity. The information available to the FHFA, CFPB, or any 
other authorized user of the NMDB data never includes personally 
identifiable information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. Request for Comment

    To inform the assessment, the Bureau hereby invites members of the 
public to submit information and other comments relevant to the issues 
identified above and below, information relevant to enumerating costs 
and benefits of the HMDA Rule to inform the assessment, and any other 
information relevant to assessing the effectiveness of the HMDA Rule in 
meeting the purposes and objectives of title X of the Dodd-Frank Act 
(section 1021) and the specific goals of the Bureau (enumerated above). 
More detailed comments/information that are supported by data/analysis 
will generally be more useful to inform the assessment. As mentioned 
previously, the Bureau recognizes that it faces challenges in its 
assessment, as it may be difficult to quantify benefits, and there may 
be limitations in the data available to the Bureau to evaluate the HMDA 
Rule's contributions to public investment and anti-discrimination 
monitoring and enforcement. The Bureau is interested in information and 
data on how HMDA data are used by various stakeholders to serve the 
HMDA's goals and purposes, including extending access to credit, fair 
lending enforcement, and distributing public-sector investment so as to 
attract private sector investment. The Bureau also invites comments on 
additional data or analyses that would be helpful for the Bureau to 
evaluate the effects of different institutional coverage and loan-
volume thresholds. The Bureau welcomes stakeholders to submit data and 
information about the effects of different thresholds on lenders and 
communities. In particular, the Bureau invites the public, including 
consumers and their advocates, community organizations, HMDA reporters 
and other industry representatives, industry analysts, and other 
interested entities to submit comments on any or all of the following:
    (1) Comments on the feasibility and effectiveness of the assessment 
plan, the objectives of the HMDA Rule that the Bureau intends to 
emphasize in the assessment, and the outcomes for assessing the 
effectiveness of the HMDA Rule as described in part IV above;

[[Page 66229]]

    (2) Data and other factual information that the Bureau may find 
useful in executing its assessment plan and answering related research 
questions, particularly research questions that may be difficult to 
address with the data currently available to the Bureau, as described 
in part IV above;
    (3) The specific data points reported under the 2015 HMDA Rule that 
help meet the objectives of the HMDA Rule, as described in part IV 
above, including the rationale, and provide any available detailed 
supporting information, evidence and data;
    (4) Recommendations to improve the assessment plan, as well as 
data, other factual information, and sources of data that would be 
useful and available to the Bureau to execute any recommended 
improvements to the assessment plan;
    (5) Data and other factual information about the benefits and costs 
of the HMDA Rule for communities, public officials, reporters, mortgage 
industry participants or other stakeholders; and about the effects of 
the rule on transparency in the mortgage market, and the utility, 
quality, and timeliness of HMDA data in meeting the Rule's stated goals 
and objectives;
    (6) Data and other factual information about the accuracy of 
estimates of annual ongoing compliance and operational costs for HMDA 
reporters, or the analytical approach used to estimate these costs, as 
delineated in the Small Business Review Panel Report under the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) that the Bureau 
convened and chaired in 2014; \52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \52\ See Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., ``Final Report of the 
Small Business Review Panel on the CFPB's Proposals Under 
Consideration for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) 
Rulemaking'' at 22, 37 (April 24, 2014), http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201407_cfpb_report_hmda_sbrefa.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    a. Comments related to the nature and magnitude of any operational 
challenges in complying with the HMDA Rule. Are they significantly 
different from those delineated in the published Report of the Small 
Business Review Panel mentioned above? If so, how and how much?;
    b. Comments delineating and describing the ongoing costs incurred 
in collecting and reporting information for the HMDA Rule. Are they 
significantly different from those delineated in the published Report 
of the Small Business Review Panel mentioned above? If so, how and how 
much?;
    (7) Data and other factual information about the HMDA Rule's 
effectiveness in meeting the purposes and objectives of title X of the 
Dodd-Frank Act (section 1021), which are listed in part IV above;
    a. Please describe the value that data on such transactions 
provides in serving HMDA's purposes;
    b. Comments relating to the usability of the public HMDA data, 
potential challenges of the current format of the public HMDA data, and 
recommendations for additional reporting by the Bureau that would be 
helpful in informing the use of the public HMDA data by communities, 
public officials, or other stakeholders; and
    (8) Recommendations for modifying, expanding, or eliminating any 
aspects of the HMDA Rule, including but not limited to the 
institutional coverage and loan-volume thresholds, transactional 
coverage, and data points.

Rohit Chopra,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021-25330 Filed 11-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P