CFPB still wants your Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau still wants your mortgage data by Monday. 

Operations related to the regulator's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act statutory requirements are continuing, a CFPB executive wrote in a court filing Monday. That includes technical assistance to enable data submissions and contracts for work related to HMDA. 

The bureau will also enable the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to compile and publish information about the loan application data. The confirmation came from Adam Maritnez, chief operating officer and acting chief human capital officer of the CFPB, in a declaration as part of the CFPB's defense in a federal lawsuit. 

Lenders have until March 3 to submit data, with the March 1 deadline falling on a Saturday. It's part of some mission-critical work Martinez said the bureau is still operating despite a widespread pause amid the Trump Administration's government slimdown. 

Compliance experts told National Mortgage News they haven't encountered issues with the HMDA platform or in filing reports this year, but cautioned HMDA guidance from the bureau may be limited. Josh Weinberg, president of Firstline Compliance, said he understood the CFPB's hmdahelp@cfpb.gov email address wasn't being responded to. 

"The bureau historically, and I think up until really this point, has wanted to provide as much information as possible," said Weinberg. "And so not having that resource is limiting, and, I think, potentially concerning to industry."

The email address responded to a National Mortgage News inquiry Tuesday with a case number, but it's unclear if the line is being staffed. It could be a part of CFPB guidance functions which experts suggested have been part of the CFPB-mandated pause on most of its activities. 

The bureau didn't return a request for comment Tuesday. 

Scott Weintraub, vice president of compliance at Mortgage Quality Management and Research, couldn't confirm whether the HMDA help line was staffed but said there could be fewer employees to reply to lenders. 

"Companies who are trying to do this on their own are often scrambling this time of year to get their [Loan Application Register] submitted," said Weintraub, using the acronym for the data. "I think they're often flooded with calls this particular week or over the last couple of weeks."

For 2023, the CFPB recorded 5,113 originators reporting data on approximately 10 million applications. The 2024 submission window opened Jan. 1, and experts said some of their clients filed HMDA submissions in early February. 

Compliance firms said common lender questions or errors include how to count reinstated applications or repurchased loans, missing co-borrower information or correct loan amounts. The CFPB often refers HMDA filer queries to its "Getting it Right!" guide, published annually.

Submissions also have error thresholds. In the past, the bureau has gone after companies it's accused of exceeding those thresholds, part of its effort to ensure fair lending practices. 

"I think we're less likely to get help, but we're also somewhat less likely to have more scrutinizing reviews from the CFPB," said Weinberg. 

While the CFPB's Martinez wrote that the FFIEC's usual release of HMDA data will move forward, experts theorized that it could be delayed given regulatory uncertainty. Any delay could have wide-ranging effects on the industry, as the data is used by lenders, state and federal regulators and other housing organizations 

"If that data's not out there, that's a piece of the fair lending puzzle companies won't be able to put together," said Weintraub. 

Such data is also useful for industry competitors and loan officers in the job market. The public can still request individual companies' HMDA data, but firms would have to provide it, and national data would be lacking. 

Compliance veterans, like other regulatory experts, are still advising lenders to operate business as usual and file on-time. 

The Trump Administration in its court filings Tuesday insisted a slimmed-down CFPB will continue to exist. 

Federal officials have boasted of the demise of the agency, including CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought, who earlier this month posted on X about ending funding for the regulator. The government's filings Tuesday in the National Treasury Employees Union lawsuit however said Vought only requested zero funding for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. 

Other cost-cutting actions by Vought and the federal government include moving to end the CFPB's lease for its D.C. headquarters, although it hasn't yet been canceled. 

In the meantime, feds said the CFPB has continued other actions like operating its call centers and administering its payments through the Civil Penalty Fund. Its Consumer Complaint Database operations however have come under scrutiny, with some lawmakers Tuesday accusing the bureau of processing 80% fewer complaints since a pause of CFPB activity three weeks ago. 

On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for President Trump's pick to lead the bureau, former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. director Jonathan McKernan.