Should State/Federal Regulators Have Greater Access to National Mortgage Information Systems? (H.R. 1480)

What is H.R. 1480?

(Updated July 18, 2017)

This bill would grant state and federal regulatory officials access to national mortgage information systems while staying in line with privacy laws. By amending the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, regulators would have access to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR), and the government would no longer consider it a loss of confidentiality.

Basically, this bill is opening up who can see the NMLSR. As the CBO notes in it's cost estimate of this bill: 

"Under current law, the confidentiality of information submitted to the NMLSR, a system ... to register all originators of mortgage loans, is protected by state and federal privacy laws. [This bill] would extend those protections to information that is shared with state or federal officials that oversee the mortgage industry."

This legislation ensures that as the NLMS expands to contain non-bank financial services companies, the SAFE Act’s privacy protections would cover information from those sources as well.

Argument in favor

Financial service regulators at the state level need to be able to do their jobs, and accessing the NMLS Registry while staying in line with confidentiality law will help.

Argument opposed

We should be wary of opening up the information guarded in national mortgage information systems — especially to federal regulators.

Impact

Anyone with information in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, state and federal regulators, and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB).

Cost of H.R. 1480

While this bill would increase direct spending and the work load on the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), the CBO estimates that those extra costs would be insignificant.

Additional Info

In-Depth:

Competing versions of this legislation passed in the 113th Congress, but after the Senate version passed, and the House passed its version, it didn’t receive the necessary vote on its return to the Senate.

Media: 

The Hill (Previous Bill Version)

Insurance News Net (Previous Bill Version)

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (In Favor)

National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (In Favor)

CU Today (In Favor)

National Association of Federal Credit Unions (In Favor)