Congress, Witnesses Decry Extra Data Points Collected by HMDA Rule

WASHINGTON—Many House Financial Services subcommittee members and witnesses in a hearing this week expressed concerns about the extra data points being collected under the CFPB's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rule and the additional burden it places on community financial institutions.
NAFCU noted that it has repeatedly expressed similar concerns with Congress and the CFPB.
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit reviewed several legislative proposals – including the Home Mortgage Reporting Relief Act of 2017 (HR 4648) – as it works to create a more efficient federal financial regulatory regime, NAFCU reported.
HR 4648 would delay the collection and reporting of new data points under the CFPB's HMDA rule. The bill, authored by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) would also prohibit the CFPB from publicly publishing any information collected under HMDA except in aggregate form.
Last month the CFPB announced intentions to pursue a "good faith efforts" policy when examining credit union compliance with the HMDA rule, which went into effect Jan. 1. The CFPB also recently announced its intention to review the HMDA rule.
Also discussed by the subcommittee was the Community Financial Institution Exemption Act (HR 1264). The bill, authored by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) would raise the CFPB exemption threshold for community institutions to $50 billion in assets and strengthen the Bureau's exemption authority.
The current regulatory burden facing community financial institutions – specifically credit unions – was addressed by various panel members. Ahead of the subcommittee's hearing, NAFCU wrote in support of the above-noted bills that "regulatory relief is needed both from Congress and the regulators to ensure credit unions have a healthy and appropriate environment that allows them to meet the needs of the nation's 110 million credit union members."