Is our bank required to provide takeaway notices along with our posted HMDA Data Availability Notice? We currently provide takeaway notices in paper form in a slot next to our posted notice.

No, there is no requirement to provide takeaway versions of the two HMDA notices to all of your customers, provided that your bank has procedures in place to furnish a copy of the required notices to customers who request them.

Regulation C requires your bank to provide two HMDA notices to members of the public “upon request”: (1) a notice regarding your HMDA disclosure statement, and (2) a notice regarding your loan/application register. These notices may be combined, and they may be provided in either “paper or electronic form.”

However, as to the nature of the electronic form, when Regulation C was amended in 2015 to require these notices, the CFPB commented that “as amended [Regulation C] requires that the individual take an additional step to obtain the data — visit the Bureau’s Web site — but provides that she leaves the institution with the specific information needed to do so.” Consequently, in our opinion, when provided in electronic form, these notices must be provided in tangible form — in other words, on a tangible electronic storage medium, such as a USB drive.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(b)(2) (“No later than three business days after receiving notice from the FFIEC that a financial institution’s disclosure statement is available, the financial institution shall make available to the public upon request at its home office, and each branch office physically located in each MSA and each MD, a written notice that clearly conveys that the institution’s disclosure statement may be obtained on the Bureau’s Web site at www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda.”)

Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(c)(1) (A financial institution shall make available to the public upon request at its home office, and each branch office physically located in each MSA and each MD, a written notice that clearly conveys that the institution’s loan/application register, as modified by the Bureau to protect applicant and borrower privacy, may be obtained on the Bureau’s Web site at www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda.”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(b), Comment 2 (“A financial institution may make the written notice required under § 1003.5(b)(2) available in paper or electronic form.”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(c), Comment 1 (“A financial institution may make the written notice required under § 1003.5(c)(1) available in paper or electronic form.”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(b), Comment 4 (“Combined notice. A financial institution may use the same notice to satisfy the requirements of both § 1003.5(b)(2) and § 1003.5(c).”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(c), Comment 3 (“Combined notice. A financial institution may use the same notice to satisfy the requirements of both § 1003.5(c) and § 1003.5(b)(2).”)

Regulation C, Official Interpretations, Paragraph 5(b), Comment 3 (“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 (“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.”)

Final Rule, Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C), 80 Fed. Reg. 66127, 66249-66250 (October 28, 2015) (“Although the final rule relieves financial institutions of the obligation to provide the disclosure statement directly to the public, the Bureau has determined that provision of the notice required under § 1003.5(b)(2) to a member of the public seeking a financial institution’s disclosure statement is necessary to ensure that she is clearly informed of where to obtain it. Currently, a member of the public seeking a disclosure statement from a financial institution would leave the institution with the data in hand. As amended, § 1003.5(b)(2) requires that the individual take an additional step to obtain the data — visit the Bureau’s Web site — but provides that she leaves the institution with the specific information needed to do so.”)