What is required by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act?

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) primarily requires financial institutions to collect and report data regarding mortgage lending activities. This data includes information such as the number of applications received, the ethnicity and gender of applicants, reasons for denial, and the type and amount of loans originated. The goal of this reporting requirement is to promote fair lending practices by ensuring transparency in the mortgage lending process and to help identify patterns of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or gender in lending.

While the other options touch on important consumer credit information, they do not align with the core purpose of the HMDA. For instance, the act does not mandate the disclosure of credit scores to consumers, nor does it require assessments of loan affordability directly. Instead, it focuses on gathering aggregate data that can be analyzed to monitor lending patterns and enforce equal opportunity lending standards. This makes the requirement for reporting mortgage lending data the essential element of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.