Mortgage Disclosure

The United States Congress passed the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act in 1975. The legislation requires financial institutions such as banks and other lending agencies to disclose, on an annual basis, data about the home purchases they have processed. This data may include information relative to home purchase pre-approvals, loans taken out for the purpose of home improvement, and applications for refinance involving multi-family dwellings and those with from one to four units. Both branch offices and loan centers are required under the legislation to display an appropriate HMDA poster.

In designing the legislation, the Federal Reserve Board intended to help public officials to distribute investments in the public-sector with enhanced information access as well as to provide a means to discover if financial institutions in their activities are actually serving the housing needs of a given community. Finally, HMDA serves to identify and thus to regulate unfair and discriminatory lending practices.

In designing the legislation, the Federal Reserve Board intended to help public officials to distribute investments in the public-sector with enhanced information access as well as to provide a means to discover if financial institutions in their activities are actually serving the housing needs of a given community. Finally, HMDA serves to identify and thus to regulate unfair and discriminatory lending practices.

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