What does the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act require of lenders?

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires lenders to collect and disclose specific data about their mortgage lending activities, particularly if they exceed certain asset thresholds. This law aims to promote transparency in the mortgage market and ensure that lending practices are fair. By forcing lenders to report on various aspects of their lending, including the demographics of their customers and the geographic distribution of loans, the HMDA seeks to facilitate the identification of discriminatory lending patterns.

This reporting is particularly important as it allows regulatory agencies and the public to analyze lending data and ensure that all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, or neighborhood, have fair access to mortgage loans. As a result, options that do not pertain to the requirement for reporting based on asset thresholds do not align with the core objective of HMDA, which emphasizes data reporting over considerations such as customer privacy, interest rates, or fee disclosures prior to loan approval.