The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized last week changes to asset-size exemption thresholds under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Regulation Z.
Specifically, the bureau increased the exemption threshold to $46 million from $45 million under the HDMA. As a result, institutions with assets of $46 million or less as of Dec. 31, 2018, are exempt from collecting data in 2019. However, it still must report data it was required to collect in 2018.
Regarding Regulation Z, creditors with assets of less than $2.167 billion as of Dec. 31, 2018 and meet certain other requirements, are exempt from establishing escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans in 2019. The adjustment will also increase a similar threshold for small-creditor portfolio and balloon-payment qualified mortgages. Balloon-payment qualified mortgages that satisfy all applicable criteria are also excepted from the prohibition on balloon payments for high-cost mortgages.
The CFPB also raised the ceiling for allowable charges under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Specifically, it raised the charges on what consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) are allowed to charge consumers who request their information file after their guaranteed free file disclosure in a 12-month period. Now, the maximum allowable charge for 2019 is now $12.50.