The 2006 HMDA Data

Abstract

Since 1975, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) has required public disclosures from most mortgage lending institutions with offices in metropolitan areas. The release of the information, which includes the geographic location and other characteristics of the home mortgages lenders originate or purchase during a calendar year, is intended to help the public determine whether institutions are adequately serving their communities' housing finance needs; the disclosures are also intended to facilitate enforcement of the nation's fair lending laws and guide investment in both the public and private sectors. Under the 1975 act, the Federal Reserve Board implements the provisions of HMDA through regulation. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) is responsible for facilitating public access to the HMDA data and for aggregating the data by metropolitan statistical area.