The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act And Subprime Lending

Abstract

This research paper focuses on the analysis of subprime lending activities in specific geographic area in the light of reporting requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). This cross sectional study has focused on the detailed analysis of mortgage data for the selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) from a socio-economic perspective. The objective of this research is to assess the impact of predatory lending in selected geographic regions. Another dimension of the research focuses on the role of mortgage lending from a securitization point of view. The study reveals that private securitization (PSEC) mortgages grew dramatically not only by the number of loans but also significantly by the dollar amount due to subprime lending activities during the period of study. The growth in PSEC loans affected mortgage lending in several ways, such as, increasing subprime lending, boosting home prices, and undermining mortgage industry regulations. Additionally, Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) loan originations also increased the number of subprime loans because of relaxed reporting requirements which contributed to increased delinquencies and foreclosures for conforming loans. The study further reveals that HMDA reporting requirements allowed the mortgage industry to conceal the loans that had spreads above the prime rate of up to 3.5 points for Fixed Rate Mortgage or 5 points for Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). The study of mortgage lending programs, products, and regulatory laws have also been examined to assess the impact of predatory lending on homeownership.