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Apr 26, 2013
Categories: Consumer Lending Home-Secured Lending

NCUA Report: Q&A with Director of NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection; Free NAFCU Webcast

Written by Steve Van Beek

Last Friday, I blogged about the 2013 HMDA Getting it Right! Guide. The importance of accurate HMDA data was also emphasized in the April 2013 NCUA Report. The newsletter includes a Q&A with Gail Laster, Director of NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection - including these two Q&As:

"Q: What are some of the major fair lending compliance issues you are seeing?

A: One major fair lending compliance issue that we're seeing involves the quality of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) reports. HMDA data serves an important purpose for [NCUA's] fair lending examiners and the public. It lets us confirm that all Americans are getting equal access to credit to help them fulfill one of our fundamental rights - the right to own property.

To address the data quality issue, we hosted a webinar in January that explained the process for submitting HMDA data and reviewed some of the most common errors credit unions make when completing the HMDA reports. [The webinar is available here]. 

Q: Can these kinds of data errors raise red flags?

A: Although we find most data reporting errors are unintentional, there are cases where the errors are symptoms of other weaknesses in lending processes or internal controls. Poor HMDA reporting can raise concerns about compliance with disclosure requirements associated with mortgage loan applications. It also makes it difficult to evaluate whether a financial institution is complying with fair lending laws.

Poor HMDA data is also an indicator of a lack of due diligence or a need for more training on the collection of mortgage loan application data or reporting procedures."

You can view the full Q&A here.

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Free NAFCU Webcast.  On May 8th, NAFCU will be hosting a free webcast on NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection: Function, Role and Objectives. NCUA's Director of the Office of Consumer Protection, Gail Laster will be presenting alongside Tonya Sweat, Director of Consumer Compliance Policy & Outreach in NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection. By viewing the webcast, you'll:

  • Learn about the OCP initiatives in consumer compliance and fair lending;
  • Understand the office’s vision and objectives; and
  • Get an analysis of the interagency activities designed to help credit unions implement the regulations issued by the CFPB.

And, best of all - the webcast is free to ALL CREDIT UNIONS.  You can sign up here.

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