As the agency committed to doing previously, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has reopened the comment period on proposed changes to coverage thresholds in its May 2019 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) relating to Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
The CFPB previously announced that it would extend the comment period on changes to discretionary data-point provisions of its 2015 HMDA rule to Oct. 15 but did not specify when it would reopen the comment period for its proposed coverage threshold changes. Comments on those aspects of the rule also will be due by Oct. 15.
Among the aspects the CFPB is seeking feedback on the bureau’s proposed data collection thresholds for closed-end mortgage loans and for open-end lines of credit. The agency also is requesting comments on the appropriate effective date for any change to the closed-end coverage threshold.
Interested parties, both from industry trade groups and consumer advocates, urged the bureau to provide additional time for their members to review the bureau’s forthcoming annual overview of residential mortgage lending based on 2018 HMDA data collected from financial institutions. Stakeholders also noted their interest in seeing the CFPB’s overview of the national loan level dataset compiled by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). FFIEC is expected to release the dataset in late summer.
In the CFPB’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking extending the comment period, the agency noted that of the more than 300 comments it received during its initial 30-day comment period, many indicated that analysis of the 2018 HMDA data was necessary for commenters to have an accurate understanding of how changes to the coverage thresholds would impact regulators and current HMDA reporters.
“Among the comments received were a number of letters expressing concern that the 2018 HMDA data would not be available until after the close of the comment period for the May 2019 proposal,” the ANPR states. “These commenters noted that the 2018 HMDA data includes data points that were reported for the first time under the bureau’s October 2015 HMDA final rule and stated that access to the 2018 HMDA data would enable the public to comment more precisely on the data that would be lost if the proposed changes were finalized.”
One group of 18 consumer advocacy and other non-profit organizations asked the bureau to reissue the May 2019 proposal and institute a new 90-day comment period once the 2018 HMDA data was released. A state attorney general similarly detailed concerns that the May 2019 proposal asked the public to provide comment on the efficacy of data it has yet to see.
The bureau noted that it will not reopen the comment period on a proposed two-year extension of the temporary open-end threshold, proposed in the May 2019 proposal to provide the bureau additional time to assess how a requirement to report open-end lines of credit would affect institutions whose origination volume falls just above the proposed threshold of 200 open-end lines of credit.
“The bureau does not believe that additional comment on the 2018 HMDA data is necessary for the bureau to determine whether to finalize the proposed two-year extension of the open-end threshold,” the ANPR states. “The bureau expects to issue a final rule in the fall of 2019 indicating whether it will extend the temporary open-end coverage threshold so that, if finalized, the extension can take effect as proposed on Jan. 1, 2020. Therefore, the bureau is not reopening that portion of the proposal for further comment relating to the 2018 HMDA data.”
The bureau also noted that it is not reopening the comment period on the addition of partial exemptions to Regulation C to further implement Section 104(a) of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA). The bureau stated that it does not believe additional comments on the matter would assist it in determining how to implement the new statutory partial exemptions. The agency also noted that, to provide further clarity on the new partial exemptions as quickly as possible, it plans to address the proposed partial exemption amendments in a final rule to be issued in the fall of 2019.