Tables are in Portable Document Format (PDF).

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today announced the availability of data for the year 2002 regarding mortgage lending transactions at 7,771 financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) in metropolitan areas throughout the nation. These data include disclosure statements for each financial institution, aggregate data for each metropolitan area, and nationwide summary statistics regarding lending patterns. A fact sheet and the nationwide summary statistics are attached to this press release; the following provides a general overview.

The FFIEC prepares and distributes the individual disclosure statements and the aggregate reports on behalf of its member agencies-the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Board, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Office of Thrift Supervision-and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lenders are required to make the disclosure statements available at their home offices within three business days of receiving the statements. In addition, for other metropolitan areas in which they have offices, lenders must either make a copy of the statements available at one branch per metropolitan area or provide a copy upon written request. The disclosure statements and aggregate reports are now available for public inspection at central depositories throughout the nation.

The HMDA data cover home purchase and home improvement loans and contain information about loan originations, loan purchases, and applications that did not result in a loan. The 2002 data include a total of 31 million reported loans and applications, which is an increase of about 13 percent from 2001, primarily due to a significant increase in refinancing activity (approximately 22 percent) (Table 1).

The number of home purchase loans extended in 2002 compared with 2001 varied by race and ethnicity. From 2001 to 2002, the number of such loans increased 11 percent for Hispanics, 18 percent for Asians, and 23 percent for Native Americans. Over the same period, blacks and whites had more moderate increases in home purchase lending; the number of such loans increased 2 percent for blacks and 3 percent for whites.

From 1993 to 2002, the annual number of home purchase loans to Hispanics rose 186 percent; to Asians, 126 percent; to blacks, 80 percent; to Native Americans, 57 percent; and to whites, 30 percent. (The period 1993 to 2002 is used because HMDA coverage in 1993 was expanded to include significantly more independent mortgage companies than previously had been covered under HMDA.) Refer to Table 7, attached, for year-to-year changes during the period 1993 to 2002.

The number of home purchase loans extended to all income groups increased modestly from 2001 to 2002. Applicants with incomes less than 80 percent of the median for the metropolitan area experienced an increase of 5 percent; applicants with incomes 80-99 percent of the median, 3 percent; applicants with incomes 100-119 percent of the median, 4 percent; and applicants with incomes 120 percent or more above the median, 4 percent. During the 1993 to 2002 period, the number of home purchase loans to applicants with incomes less than 80 percent of the median for the metropolitan area increased by 91 percent; to applicants with incomes 80-99 percent of the median, 57 percent; to applicants with incomes 100-119 percent of the median, 51 percent; and to applicants with incomes 120 percent or more above the median, 66 percent. Refer to Table 7 for year-to-year changes during the period.

In 2002, the denial rates for conventional home purchase loans fell for the fourth consecutive year, after rising for most of the past decade (Table 3). In 1993, the overall denial rate for conventional home purchase loans was 17 percent; by 1998 this rate had increased to 29 percent. The denial rate fell to 28 percent in 1999; to 27 percent in 2000; and to 21 percent in 2001. In 2002, the denial rate was down to 14 percent. All ethnic and racial groups experienced lower denial rates in 2002 as compared with 2001, but denial rates continue to vary among racial and ethnic groups. In 2002, denial rates for conventional home purchase loans were as follows: for black applicants, 26 percent; for Native American applicants, 23 percent; for Hispanic applicants, 18 percent; for white applicants, 12 percent; and for Asian applicants, 10 percent.

From 1993 to 2001, the proportion of home loan applications of all types with missing race or ethnicity data increased from 8 percent to 30 percent. This proportion fell to 28 percent in 2002 (Table 8). The proportion of applications for home purchase loans without race or ethnicity information is lower than for applications for refinancings and home improvement loans, but still has grown substantially throughout the years and follows the same pattern as for applications of all types. Four percent of home purchase loan applications lacked race or ethnicity information in 1993; in 2001, the proportion was 18 percent, and involved roughly 1.4 million applications. In 2002, the proportion fell to 15 percent, and involved about 1.1 million applications. For home purchase loans originated, the same general pattern is observed: 3 percent lacked information on race or ethnicity in 1993, by 2001 the proportion had grown to 13 percent, then fell to 12 percent in 2002.

Until recently, lenders were not required to request information on an applicant's race or ethnicity and sex when an application was taken entirely by telephone. Because the growth in missing data on race or ethnicity could complicate analyses of changes in home mortgage lending over time, the Board revised the rule regarding telephone applications. For all applications taken on or after January 1, 2003, lenders are required to ask applicants for race, ethnicity, and sex information in telephone applications. For applications taken in person or by mail or electronic means (such as by facsimile or the Internet), a lender must request the information. In all cases, an applicant has the option not to provide the information.

The location of the central depository for a metropolitan area can be obtained by calling the FFIEC at 202/872-7500. The FFIEC distributes the disclosure statements to institutions and central depositories in electronic form only. In addition, the FFIEC makes HMDA data directly available to the public in various formats, including magnetic tape and CD-ROM, and at the FFIEC web site (www.ffiec.gov/hmda). Some data are available in paper form (tables for 2002 showing key demographic information for metropolitan areas, for instance).

An order form gives descriptions of the various reports, prices, and formats. It is available for printing from the FFIEC web site (www.ffiec.gov/hmda/orderform.htm). Advance orders will be filled when the data become available.

The HMDA data also include information on loans that are sold, showing the type of purchaser of the loan. Among other things, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses this information in assessing the performance of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in meeting their legislatively mandated affordable housing goals.

The FFIEC also provides data from the nation's seven private mortgage insurance (PMI) companies. The 2002 PMI data include information on approximately 2.6 million applications for mortgage insurance; about 1.5 million applications were to insure home purchase mortgages, and about 1.1 million were to insure mortgages to refinance existing obligations. By August, these data will be available-at individual PMI companies, at the central depositories in each metropolitan area, and from the FFIEC-in the same types of reports and in the same formats as the HMDA data.

Questions about a HMDA report for a specific lender should be directed to the lender's supervisory agency at the number listed below:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - 877/275-3342;
hearing impaired - 800/925-4618

Federal Reserve Board, HMDA Assistance Line - 202/452-2016

National Credit Union Administration, Office of Examination - 703/518-6360

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Compliance Division - 202/874-4428

Office of Thrift Supervision, Consumer Programs - 202/906-6315

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing - 202/755-7530.

Attachments:

• Fact Sheet on 2002 Data (with Tables) (Note: Tables are in PDF)
• HMDA Data Order Forms and Item Descriptions ( PDF)