On April 13, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (the “NPRM” or “proposal”) to amend the Regulation C final rule issued by the CFPB in October 2015 (“Final Rule”).  Regulation C implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”), 12 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq.  The Final Rule modified the types of institutions and transactions subject to Regulation C, the types of data that institutions are required to collect, and the processes for reporting and disclosing the required data.  The Final Rule included, but was not limited to, amendments required by the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  Most of the requirements of the Final Rule become effective in January 2018.

The NPRM would create transition rules to permit financial institutions to report “not applicable” for certain data points, specifically loan purpose and the unique identifier for the loan originator, when reporting on certain loans they purchased that were originated before regulatory requirements to report those data points took effect. The proposal would clarify the term “automated underwriting system,” clarify the scope of temporary financing, and create a new reporting exception for certain consolidation transactions in New York State.  The NPRM would also establish a safe harbor for a financial institution that reports an incorrect census tract for a property if the institution enters an accurate property address into the CFPB’s geotracking tool to obtain census tract information but the geotracking tool returns an incorrect census tract number.

Comments on the proposal will be due 30 days after the NPRM’s publication in the Federal Register. As proposed, most provisions would take effect on January 1, 2018, to correspond to the effective date of the Final Rule.