HMDA

A new Republican director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to take immediate action to change certain rules, including the "qualified mortgage" and payday rules, while curbing pending enforcement actions that are considered too harsh on financial firms.

The CFPB's practice of "regulation by enforcement" forces mortgage companies to develop compliance standards based on the mistakes of their peers, rather than clear guidance from the enforcement agency, said David Motley, the new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal would limit how much Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data is released to the public in an effort to protect consumer privacy.

Lenders will not have to report data on open-ended home equity lines of credit in 2018 or 2019 if they originated fewer than 500 HELOCs the preceding year, the bureau said.

Efforts to repeal a Dodd-Frank mandate for lenders to report data on small-business applicants — including race and ethnicity — overlooks the benefits of the provision to both communities of color and banks.