Submission of 2007 Data to Comply with the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

Dear Board of Directors:

Credit unions located in metropolitan areas that engage in certain types of residential mortgage lending and have assets exceeding the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) published threshold must comply with Regulation C. Regulation C implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Credit unions subject to HMDA requirements for 2007 activity must submit loan/application register (LAR) data to the FRB by March 1, 2008.

To determine if your credit union must submit HMDA data for calendar year 2007 activity, please review Regulatory Alert 07-RA-01, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data Collection Requirements for Calendar Year 2007 dated January 2007. This Regulatory Alert is available on our Internet site at the address  http://www.ncua.gov/Legal/Documents/Regulatory Alerts/RA2007-01.pdf (opens new window).

 

The purpose of this regulatory alert is to:

Credit unions subject to HMDA requirements for 2007 activity must submit LAR data to the FRB processing center by March 1, 2008. This requirement remains in place even for credit unions that do not have to accumulate HMDA data for applications processed during 2008¹

The LAR requires data about the mortgage applications processed during the reporting year. Additional information about the LAR filing requirements is available at the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) Internet site http://www.ffiec.gov/hmda/default.htm (opens new window) (You will be leaving NCUA.gov and accessing a non-NCUA website. We encourage you to read the NCUA's exit link policies. (opens new page).) . This Internet site also provides access to free software to assist credit unions with the filing process.

Credit unions with 25 or fewer entries on their LAR may report and submit the data in paper form. However, all credit unions that have more than 25 entries on the LAR must submit their reports in an automated, machine-readable, form.

The Internet site http://www.ffiec.gov/hmda/contactNCUA.htm (opens new window) (You will be leaving NCUA.gov and accessing a non-NCUA website. We encourage you to read the NCUA's exit link policies. (opens new page).) provides an overview of all acceptable LAR submission methods. The FRB prefers receiving automated LAR data by e-mail at the address: hmdasub@frb.gov. Transmissions by methods other than e-mail may be delayed due to FRB security protocols.

The LAR data file must be properly encrypted using the FFIEC data entry software encryption utility before transmission. This process requires installing the Internet Submission software that is available for free at the FFIEC Internet site http://www.ffiec.gov/software/default.aspx (opens new window) (You will be leaving NCUA.gov and accessing a non-NCUA website. We encourage you to read the NCUA's exit link policies. (opens new page).) .

 

To ensure data can be successfully read by the FRB by e-mail, your credit union should use the edit check feature of the HMDA data entry software prior to encrypting and submitting your transmission file.

Data is considered to be successfully received by the FRB once the FRB has opened and loaded your data onto its mainframe computer. When the FRB has successfully loaded your data, it will confirm receipt of the file by faxing or emailing an edit report that lists potential data errors. You should retain a dated copy of the edit report with your credit union’s records. The following general time frames will apply:

Credit unions submitting their data by e-mail will receive an e-mail message from the FRB that confirms receipt of the submission. It is important to not confuse the confirmation that the FRB has received your submission with the edit report that documents the FRB has successfully loaded your data onto its mainframe computer. The FRB only considers your data as being received when it issues the edit report.

If your credit union does not receive an edit report from the FRB, it is your responsibility to follow up with the FRB. In the recent past, several credit unions neglected to either a) contact the FRB when not receiving a confirmation of receipt; or b) follow up when not receiving a list of potential data errors after initially receiving a confirmation of receipt. As a result, the credit unions were not aware that their LAR data was not successfully loaded onto the FRB’s mainframe computer until appearing on a delinquent filer list.

NCUA anticipates every credit union that is required to report 2007 HMDA data will provide a readable transmission file to the FRB by the March 1^st, 2008 deadline. Following March 1st, the FRB will provide a list of delinquent filers to NCUA. Credit unions appearing on this list could become subject to civil money penalty assessments.

The FFIEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.ffiec.gov/hmda/default.htm (opens new window) (You will be leaving NCUA.gov and accessing a non-NCUA website. We encourage you to read the NCUA's exit link policies. (opens new page).) ) that is devoted to providing financial institutions with assistance in complying with HMDA requirements. This site also provides access to a comprehensive guide entitled A Guide to HMDA Reporting – Getting it Right! that provides information about the history of HMDA, data reporting requirements, LAR completion guidelines, geocoding tools, and disclosure requirements.

Questions concerning HMDA software, data receipt confirmations, data edits, and other issues related to the submission of HMDA data can be sent to the FRB by email at hmdahelp@frb.gov.

Should you have questions about LAR completion, please contact your regional office or state supervisory authority.