We have reported Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data in the past, but we now qualify for an exemption from HMDA reporting due to our low loan volume. Because we are no longer a HMDA reporter, are we required to display or make available any HMDA notices? If so, are we required to include the CFPB’s suggested verbiage in our HMDA lobby notices?

Yes, we recommend that your bank continue to display and make HMDA notices available, as described below.

We contacted the CFPB to clarify the signage responsibilities for a bank like yours (one that reported HMDA data in the past but is not currently a HMDA reporter). The CFPB representative’s informal guidance to us was to continue displaying the HMDA lobby notice, and then, after five years have passed since the last year in which your bank reported HMDA data, you may remove it. Also, the CFPB representative opined that your bank should continue to make available the two HMDA notices that must be provided to a member of the public on request. The written notice regarding your bank’s HMDA disclosure statement should be made available for five years, and the written notice regarding your bank’s loan/application register should be made available for three years.

However, your bank is not required to use the CFPB’s exact verbiage on your HMDA lobby notices, irrespective of whether your bank is or is not a HMDA reporter. The CFPB’s Official Interpretations to Regulation C clearly state that its verbiage “is suggested but is not required” and that “an institution may create its own notice.” Whether your bank uses the CFPB’s suggested verbiage or creates its own notices, these notices should “clearly convey that the institution’s HMDA data is available on the Bureau’s Web site at www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda.”

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(e) (“Posted notice of availability of data. A financial institution shall post a general notice about the availability of its HMDA data in the lobby of its home office and of each branch office physically located in each MSA and each MD. This notice must clearly convey that the institution’s HMDA data is available on the Bureau’s Web site at www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda.”)

Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(d)(1) (“A financial institution shall make the notice required by paragraph (c) of this section [notice upon request that the institution’s loan/application register is available on the Bureau’s website] available to the public for a period of three years and the notice required by paragraph (b)(2) of this section [notice upon request that the institution’s disclosure statement may be obtained on the Bureau’s website] available to the public for a period of five years. . . .”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(e), Comment 1 (“Posted notice—suggested text. A financial institution may post any text that meets the requirements of § 1003.5(e). The Bureau or other appropriate Federal agency for a financial institution may provide a notice that the institution can post to inform the public of the availability of its HMDA data, or an institution may create its own notice. The following language is suggested but is not required:

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Notice

The HMDA data about our residential mortgage lending are available online for review. The data show geographic distribution of loans and applications; ethnicity, race, sex, age, and income of applicants and borrowers; and information about loan approvals and denials. HMDA data for many other financial institutions are also available online. For more information, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Web site (www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda).”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(b), Comment 3 (“Notice—suggested text. A financial institution may use any text that meets the requirements of § 1003.5(b)(2). The following language is suggested but is not required:

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Notice

The HMDA data about our residential mortgage lending are available online for review. The data show geographic distribution of loans and applications; ethnicity, race, sex, age, and income of applicants and borrowers; and information about loan approvals and denials. These data are available online at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Web site (www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda). HMDA data for many other financial institutions are also available at this Web site.”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(c), Comment 2 (“Notice—suggested text. A financial institution may use any text that meets the requirements of § 1003.5(c)(1). The following language is suggested but is not required:

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Notice

The HMDA data about our residential mortgage lending are available online for review. The data show geographic distribution of loans and applications; ethnicity, race, sex, age, and income of applicants and borrowers; and information about loan approvals and denials. These data are available online at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Web site (www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda). HMDA data for many other financial institutions are also available at this Web site.”)