Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) reintroduced the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act to bring much needed regulatory relief to community banks and credit unions across the country.

While well-intentioned, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act’s one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme placed numerous excessive and unnecessary regulations on small banks and credit unions who had nothing to do with the 2008 collapse. One in particular, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s revised Regulation C final rule - under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) – will go into effect on January 1, 2018. Regulation C requires covered banks and credit unions to collect dozens of new data points on loan applications they receive and report this data to the CFPB. 

“There is a time and a place for regulation, but imposing new and unnecessary mandates and reporting requirements on our community financial institutions is most certainly a step too far,” said Emmer. “Not only are our small banks and credit unions being forced to close up shop, these stifling regulations are making it harder for entrepreneurs and American families to get the mortgages, car loans and the business financing they need. Through my Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act, we will be able to cut red-tape and bring much needed regulatory relief to our local financial institutions so Americans can once again achieve the American Dream.”

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act exempts small banks and credit unions from the updated reporting requirements of Regulation C if they are:

• Lenders that have originated 1,000 or fewer closed-end mortgages (typical mortgage for a purchase or refinance of a home) in each of the two preceding calendar years will be exempt from reporting on such loans; or are
• Lenders that have originated 2,000 or fewer open-end lines of credit (such as a typical home equity loan) in each of the two preceding calendar years will be exempt from reporting on such loans.

Additionally, the bill repeals the HMDA amendments included in Dodd-Frank and withdraws the CFPB’s rule to impose the new and modified HMDA data points. 

This legislation is endorsed by the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions and the Independent Community Bankers of America.

Congressman Emmer is a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act is H.R. 2954. Click here to read the full text.

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