FFIEC releases CRA flat file, updated HMDA reporting guidance

Actions related to compliance with anti-redlining requirements and home mortgage lending reporting – updated guidance and a limited flat file — were taken Wednesday by the umbrella group for federal financial institution regulators.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) said a limited flat file covering only demographic information was released. It was issued as the first part of the FFIEC 2022 census products release, the exam council said earlier this month.

The exam council also said the file does not include tract income categories used in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) or other fields derived from the American Community Service (ACS) 5-Year Survey (covering 2016-20). The agency said that when a field is normally included in the FFIEC flat file but is not available in the census redistricting data, the field is left blank. Wednesday’s release, the FFIEC said, includes each census tract’s minority and ethnic population.

Also Wednesday, the exam council released its updated 2022 guide to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) reporting. The guide includes, the agency said, a summary of responsibilities and requirements, directions for assembling the necessary tools, and instructions for reporting HMDA data.

2022 CRA Data Entry Software Release 1

2022 Guide to HMDA Reporting: Getting It Right! is now available