5438 South Prairie View Drive West Des Moines, IA 50266
On this eve of Christmas Eve, I was pleasantly surprised with how quiet my commute to the office was this morning. I’m sure if my office were close to the mall or a big box store, I’d be singing a different tune right now. However, one place that isn’t quiet right now is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Kathy Kringle and her crew continue to deck the halls of 1700 G Street with new rulemaking just in time for the New Year!
HMDA Asset Threshold
Banks and credit unions that meet the following four-part institutional coverage test are reportable institutions for purposes of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA):
• Assets in excess of a certain threshold;
• Home or branch office in a Metropolitan Statistical Area;
• Originated at least one home purchase or refinance transaction in the preceding calendar year; and
• Federally insured or regulated.
The asset threshold is subject to change annually based on any percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). A final rule released on Friday makes an adjustment to the asset threshold for 2020. In order to be a reportable institution for calendar year 2020, financial institutions must have assets in excess of $47 million as of 12/31/2019.
Small Creditors
Small creditors are exempt from a couple of requirements under Regulation Z. First, a small creditor may originate a qualified mortgage even if the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio exceeds 43%. Second, small creditors operating in a rural and/or underserved area are exempt from the requirement to establish an escrow account in connection with a higher priced mortgage loan in first lien position.
A small creditor, by definition, is an institution that meets the following two-part test:
• During the preceding calendar year, the institution (together with any affiliates) originated 2,000 or fewer covered transactions secured by a first lien; and
• At the end of the preceding calendar year, the institution (together with any affiliates) had total assets below a certain threshold.
The small creditor asset threshold is subject to change annually based on any percentage change in the CPI-W. Effective January 1, 2020, the small creditor asset threshold is increasing from $2.167 billion to $2.202 billion.
Finger crossed this will be one of my last blog posts for 2019. If so, best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful holiday season. See you in the New Year!
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Michael Christians Consulting, LLC