[rcooper]

Question 1: Does the partial exemption apply to the loans in which we already collected the data for?

Answer: The actual text of the interpretative and procedural rule does not clarify the status of data collected prior to the effective date, but footnote 28 states, “The Bureau interprets the Act to apply to data that are collected or reported under HMDA on or after May 24, 2018. Because data collected from January 1, 2018, to May 23, 2018, would not be reported until early in 2019, the Act relieves insured depository institutions and insured credit unions that are eligible for a partial exemption under the Act of the obligation to report certain data in 2019 that may have been collected before May 24, 2018. If optional reporting of data covered by a partial exemption were not permitted, such institutions would have to remove exempt data previously collected, before submitting their 2018 data in early 2019, a process that could be burdensome for some institutions.” The key to interpreting the footnote is the concept of data “collected or reported” under HMDA on or after May 24, 2018. While the date was collected before May 24. 2018 it will not be reported until after that date.

Additional Comment: Another attendee clarified that the CFPB Executive Summary (pg 4/5) says, “An insured depository institution or insured credit union that is eligible for a partial exemption for a transaction does not need to collect exempt data points on or after May 24, 2018. In addition, such institutions are not required to report certain data that may have been collected on or before May 24, 2018.” The executive summary is available at: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_hmda_interpretive-procedural-rule_2018-08_executive-summary.pdf

Additional Comment: Yet another attendee indicated, “It was my understanding that the Bureau has said you can use the exemption back to January if you wish.”

Response: Agreed

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