The Home Mortgage Disclosures Act

The Home Mortgage Disclosures Act Summary​

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is a law that requires certain financial institutions to publicly disclose detailed information about their mortgage lending activity, including data on applicants' race, ethnicity, gender, and income, to help identify potential discriminatory lending practices and ensure that lenders are serving the housing needs of their communities; essentially, it forces lenders to report information about the mortgages they provide to the public, allowing for analysis of lending patterns across different demographics and geographic areas. 

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Key points about HMDA:

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Purpose:

To prevent discriminatory lending practices by making mortgage data publicly available, allowing for analysis of whether certain communities are being underserved by lenders. 

 

What information is reported:

Details about mortgage applications including borrower information like race, ethnicity, gender, income, loan amount, loan type, and whether the loan was approved or denied. 

 

Who is required to report:

Certain financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies. 

 

Implementation:

HMDA is implemented through Regulation C, overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).