Automated Underwriting System (AUS) Requirements
Now that it is 2018, financial institutions will have to report the name of the Automated Underwriting System (AUS) and the results that were generated as part of their HMDA data. This data point allows a financial institution to not only use the already well established AUSs, but to also report if they used one that they developed themselves. If this is the case, this system must meet all of the elements of the AUS definition. According to the CFPB’s Small Entity Compliance Guide, an AUS is: i) developed by a securitizer, Federal government insurer, or Federal government guarantor of Closed-End Mortgage Loans or Open-End Lines of Credit; and ii) provides results that address both the applicant’s credit risk and whether the loan is eligible to be originated, purchased, insured, or guaranteed by the securitizer.
It is important to note that this data point is required to be reported if an AUS was used to evaluate the loan. The intention of the financial institution, whether to sell or to keep it as part of their portfolio, will not affect this reporting requirement. That being said, using an AUS is not a requirement for generating a loan. If one was not used in evaluating the application, then this data point can be reported as “not applicable” on your HMDA LAR. The other two circumstances in which “not applicable” can be reported is if you are reporting on a purchased loan or if the applicants are not natural persons.
For more information on HMDA regulations, 2018 data point changes or our HMDA compliance services, please call Rhonda Wannemuehler or Betsy Reynolds at 855-734-7655.
Manufactured Home Secured Property Type & Manufactured Home Land Property Interest
Beginning in 2018, a financial institution will report manufactured home information as part of their HMDA data. Specifically, the secured property type and the land property interest information should be reported in regards to the manufactured home that is securing the loan.
For the secured property type, a financial institution will have to report whether the loan is secured by a manufactured home and land or if the land is not securing the loan. A financial institution will report that the Manufactured Home is not secured by land even if the Manufactured Home is considered real property under state law.
For the land property interest, the financial institution should report the information about the applicant’s ownership interest in the land where the manufactured home is located. The first option that can be reported is direct ownership. This is used when the applicant has direct ownership in the land and the ownership is more than a possessory real property ownership interest. Another option is indirect ownership. This is reported when the applicant is a member of a resident-owned community that is structured as a housing cooperative which owns the underlying land. If the applicant lives in a resident-owned community but is not a member, the land property interest would be reported as a paid leasehold. A paid leasehold can occur when the applicant does not have an ownership interest in the land but they have a written lease for the lot that specifies rent payments. This data point can also be reported as an unpaid leasehold. This occurs when there is no written lease and therefore no agreement for rent payments.
There is an additional circumstance for the land property interest data point. This will be reported as “not applicable” if the location for the manufactured home has not yet been identified at the time action was taken. When it comes to reporting these data points as “not applicable” on your HMDA LAR, there is some overlap. Both of these data points will be reported as “not applicable” when the dwelling that is securing the loan is not a manufactured home or if it is a manufactured home community that is a multifamily dwelling.
For more information on HMDA regulations, 2018 data point changes or our HMDA compliance services, please call Rhonda Wannemuehler or Betsy Reynolds at 855-734-7655.
Institutions Will Report Prepayment Penalty Term In 2018
Come 2018, an institution will have to report the term of the prepayment penalty on their HMDA LAR. There are several instances where this data point should be reported as “not applicable”. This is when the application is not subject to Regulation Z, it is for a reverse mortgage, when it is a purchased loan, and if the transaction does not involve a prepayment penalty. If there is a prepayment penalty, then the term must be reported in months.
For more information on HMDA regulations, 2018 data point changes or our HMDA compliance services, please call Rhonda Wannemuehler or Betsy Reynolds at 855-734-7655.
The Correct Loan Amount for the HMDA Data Points in 2018
When a financial institution reported the loan amount under the old HMDA rule, the amount had to be rounded to the nearest thousandths. This will all change in 2018. The new rule modifies this data point and now requires that the lender report the entire loan amount and it should be rounded to the nearest whole number.
This data point should still be reported even if the loan does not end in origination. If the loan was denied, the amount that the applicant applied for is reported. If a counteroffer was made and it was accepted, then the amount of the counteroffer would be reported. However, if the said counteroffer was denied, then the financial institution should report the amount that the applicant initially applied for.
For more information on HMDA regulations, 2018 data point changes or our HMDA compliance services, please call Rhonda Wannemuehler or Betsy Reynolds at 855-734-7655.
HMDA 2018 Action Taken and Action Taken Date
When reporting information regarding the action taken for a loan, there will not be any substantial changes under the new HMDA regulation. The type of action taken must be reported as being one of the following: originated or purchased; approved but not accepted; withdrawn; denied; or closed for incompleteness. In addition to these familiar data points, there will be values that specifically address the action taken for preapprovals come 2018.
An institution reports a loan as being originated if it was approved before closing and if there was an extension of credit. The loan is also reported as being originated if the loan began as a request for a preapproval but resulted in the loan being originated. The Action Taken Date that is reported for originated loans is either the closing date or the account opening date.
Another possible action taken is if the loan was purchased. These are loans that were purchased by the financial institution after closing and where no credit decision was made by the institution prior to closing. The date that the loan was purchased is reported as the Action Taken Date on your HMDA LAR.
If the loan was approved before closing but the applicant either failed to respond or the loan was not otherwise closed, then the action taken would be reported as approved but not accepted. The regulation allows some flexibility as to the date that is reported. The institution can choose to report: the approval date; the deadline for accepting the offer; or the date that the file was closed as the Action Taken Date. It is up to the lender to choose which date to report, but it should remain consistent.
An application is reported as being denied under certain circumstances. A loan is considered to be denied if the financial institution decided to deny the application after a credit decision was made. The other circumstance is when a counteroffer was made and it was not accepted. The Action Taken Date that is reported is either the date that the action was taken on the application or the date that the Adverse Action Notice was sent to the borrower.
For withdrawals, an application is reported as such when the it was expressly withdrawn by the borrower before a credit decision has been made. The date that the borrower contacted the lender to withdraw the application is reported as the Action Taken Date.
A loan file is reported as being closed for incompleteness when the financial institution sent the borrower a notice of incompleteness and the borrower failed to respond with the additional information that was requested. The lender may have reporting options regarding this type of Action Taken but it depends on if the lender provided an Adverse Action Notice to the borrower with the reason for denial being incompleteness. If this occurs, then the loan file can either be reported as being denied or being closed for incompleteness. Like with denied loans, the lender can use the date that the action was taken or the date of the Adverse Action Notice is reported as the Action Taken Date.
For an application that is a preapproval request that was approved but not accepted, any reasonable date can be reported as the Action Taken Date. This is up to the institution and such dates could be the approval date, deadline for accepting the offer, or the date that the file was closed. When the application is a preapproval request that was denied, the date of the denial or the date of the Adverse Action Notice sent to the applicant is reported as the Action Taken Date.
The CFPB has recently issued a proposed correction in regards to this data point. This concerns how to report the action taken when a counteroffer was made and the institution provided a conditional approval but the applicant does not respond. The correction states that this would be reported as either: a denial, file closed for incompleteness, approved but not accepted, or as application withdrawn. It all would depend upon the particular circumstances.
For more information on HMDA regulations, 2018 data point changes or our HMDA compliance services, please call Rhonda Wannemuehler or Betsy Reynolds at 855-734-7655.
One HMDA Data Point That Won’t Change Is The Loan Type
The loan type is one of the data points that will not undergo any changes under the new HMDA regulation. This information can be found on the application and the reporting process is very straightforward. If the loan is not insured by anyone, then it would be considered a Conventional loan and Code 1 would be reported. An institution reports Code 2 if the application is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Also, if the Veterans Administration (VA) is guaranteeing the loan, then Code 3 is reported on the LAR. Finally, an institution reports the Loan Type as being Code 4 if the USDA Rural Housing Service (RHS) or the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is guaranteeing the application.