Fed aims to clear up HMDA confusion.

NEW YORK -- Help is on the way for banks confused about filing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports.

What constitutes a turndown of a loan applicant? Which income figure should a bank report when an applicant lists one figure and a credit check reveals another?

Answers to these and other often-asked questions about HMDA reporting are coming from the Federal Reserve Board.

Griffith Garwood, director of the Fed's consumer affairs division, said at this week's American Bankers Association convention that the central bank is putting the final touches on its HMDA staff commentary.

Mr. Garwood added that within a few weeks the Fed will finish its plan to move up HMDA reporting by 30 days -- to Feb. 1 of each year.

Regulators proposed the earlier reporting date to give themselves more time to process the HMDA data. But bankers complained' that they have a hard enough time meeting the current deadline.

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