What is the Home Loan Disclosure Act (HMDA)?
The Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is a federal law passed in 1975 that requires mortgage lenders to collect and report loan-level data points on their portfolios and practices.
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is implementing HMDA.
History of the HMDA Report
Over the years, HMDA reports have been expanding, requiring more institutions to report on more types of loans.
For example, in 2018, financial institutions were obligated to report data related to their Home Stock Line of Credit (HELOC). Additionally, it was necessary for the agency that issued at least 100 closed-end mortgages or 200 open-end credit lines two years ago to report. In 2022, the threshold was adjusted to ensure that institutions sending out at least 25 terminal mortgages must report.
According to Christopher Siculanza, senior managing director specializing in financial services at consulting firm Ankura, nowadays, mortgage lenders need to complete more than 100 fields based on the size of the facility, based on the size of the facility.
“The increased number of data fields and improved public accessibility and technical interfaces will enable all members to better understand and visualize the lending patterns in their communities,” says Siculanza.
What does the HMDA report include?
| Applicant information | Ethnicity, race, gender, income |
| Collateral details | Property type, location |
| Loan information | Features such as application date, type of loan, purpose of loan, amount of loan, mortgage rate range, fees, balloon payments, and more |
| Loan status | Approval, rejection, withdrawal, incomplete, reason for decision |
The data also includes details of pre-approvals and loans sold from one institution to another.
You can use your data to follow the trajectory of a particular loan. For example, if the borrower received the mortgage, if it was rejected, if the application was not completed, or if something else happened to prevent the loan from being sent out.
Some data will be excluded from public reports for privacy reasons, such as applicants.
Additional fields including the exact loan amount, age, debt income (DTI) ratio and property value will be changed to range for this same reason.
How do I access my HMDA data online?
Access your HMDA data online for free from the CFPB website. Scroll to the Download HMDA Data section where you can choose to download data from 2007 to 2017 or access the latest data and summary containing data from a particular financial institution.
The Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC) has the latest HMDA data. There is also an HMDA Data Browser that allows you to filter, aggregate, download and visualize your HMDA data sets.
Why is HMDA important?
HMDA data serves as a comprehensive source of publicly available information about the US mortgage market. Information provides valuable insights such as:
- Whether the lender properly serves the local mortgage lending needs;
- Whether the lender uses discriminatory lending practices
- Whether the region needs public or private investments to help revitalize the real estate market
Most mortgage borrowers are unlikely to analyze their HMDA data before choosing a lender. However, this information provides regulators with tools to identify potential housing discrimination without putting consumer privacy at risk. Civil servants can use it to make better policy and budget decisions regarding local housing.
Lenders are also using the data, says Kimberly Wattel, former bank director at the former Second National Bank in Chicago, Illinois. “It tells us a lot about our own business, what our peers are doing, and what we are different places and integrity. When lenders are more aligned with the performance of our loans, they can serve our community better.”
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