PRINTER'S NO. 3635

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 2588 Session of 1976


        INTRODUCED BY O'DONNELL, IRVIS, LAUGHLIN, M. E. MILLER JR.,
           LEDERER, COHEN, MYERS, RAPPAPORT, REED AND RICHARDSON,
           JUNE 30, 1976

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND COMMERCE, JUNE 30, 1976

                                     AN ACT

     1  Providing for the disclosure of certain financial data by
     2     financial institutions; and making an appropriation.

     3     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     4  hereby enacts as follows:
     5     Section 1.  Short Title.--This act shall be known and may be
     6  cited as the "Home Mortgage and Deposit Disclosure Act."
     7     Section 2.  Finding of Fact and Declaration of Policy.--(a)
     8  It has been determined by the General Assembly of this
     9  Commonwealth:
    10     (1)  That there has been a decline in the living conditions
    11  of neighborhoods and communities due to the failure of financial
    12  institutions to provide adequate home financing to qualified
    13  applicants on reasonable terms and conditions.
    14     (2)  That financial institutions have failed to fulfill their
    15  responsibilities to their customers by denying home financing to
    16  qualified applicants on the basis of the geographic location of
    17  the property which is to be purchased, improved or


     1  rehabilitated.
     2     (3)  That customers of financial institutions should be
     3  provided with the necessary information to determine if the
     4  financial institutions are fulfilling their responsibilities to
     5  them.
     6     (4)  That the problems of the Commonwealth and its
     7  inhabitants due to the shortage of decent, adequate housing have
     8  been aggravated and increased by financial institutions which
     9  deny home financing to qualified applicants on the basis of the
    10  geographic location of the property which is to be purchased,
    11  improved or rehabilitated.
    12     (b)  It is declared to be the policy of the Commonwealth of
    13  Pennsylvania to promote the health and welfare of its
    14  inhabitants by requiring financial institutions to make
    15  disclosures concerning home financing and deposits. Such
    16  disclosures would provide the Commonwealth and its citizens with
    17  sufficient information to enable them to determine whether
    18  financial institutions are fulfilling their responsibilities to
    19  their customers and are serving the housing needs of the
    20  neighborhoods in which their customers reside. The disclosures
    21  would assist public officials at both the State and local levels
    22  in their determination of the distribution of public sector
    23  investments in a manner designed to improve the private
    24  investment environment and to aid State and local interests and
    25  priorities. Further, such policy of the Commonwealth is not
    26  intended to nor is to be construed to encourage unsound lending
    27  practices or the allocation of credit.
    28     Section 3.  Definitions.--The following words and terms, when
    29  used in this act, shall have unless the context clearly
    30  indicates otherwise, the meaning ascribed to them in this
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     1  section:
     2     "Census tract."  A standard statistical area as established
     3  by the United States Bureau of the Census.
     4     "Deposits."  The money which a financial institution receives
     5  to be held in saving accounts, checking accounts, time deposits
     6  and all other forms for investment or safekeeping.
     7     "Financial institution."  Any office of a commercial bank,
     8  savings bank, savings and loan association, building and loan
     9  association, homestead association, including cooperative banks,
    10  credit union, mortgage service company, mortgage broker,
    11  insurance company, and any other such association or institution
    12  which:
    13     (i) is regulated, supervised, chartered, or incorporated by
    14  or in the Commonwealth; and
    15     (ii)  makes mortgage loans or home improvement loans or holds
    16  deposits.
    17     "Home improvement loan."  A loan, secured or unsecured, the
    18  proceeds of which are to be used for the purpose of repairing,
    19  rehabilitating or remodeling an existing residential dwelling.
    20     "Mortgage loan."  A loan which is secured by residential real
    21  property.
    22     "Reporting period."  A six month time interval of the
    23  biannual reporting cycle. The reporting periods are from January
    24  1 to June 30 and from July 1 to December 31 of each year, and
    25  the first reporting period begins on the effective date of this
    26  act.
    27     Section 4.  Compilation of Data.--(a) Each financial
    28  institution, home or branch office, must compile the following
    29  information or data for each reporting period:
    30     (1)  The number and total dollar amount of mortgage loans and
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     1  home improvement loans which were originated by that
     2  institution.
     3     (2)  The number and total dollar amount of mortgage loans and
     4  home improvement loans which were purchased or refinanced by
     5  that institution.
     6     (3)  The number and total unpaid balance of all outstanding
     7  mortgage loans and home improvement loans held by that
     8  institution.
     9     (4)  The number, percentage, and aggregate amount of all
    10  mortgage loans foreclosed by that institution.
    11     (5)  The number of written mortgage loan and home improvement
    12  loan applications denied with the reasons for denial such as
    13  insufficient income, bad credit risk, and so forth.
    14     (6)  The number and total dollar amount of all deposits held
    15  by that institution.
    16     (7)  The number and total dollar amount of all savings
    17  accounts, checking accounts and time accounts on deposit with
    18  that institution.
    19     (8)  The number and total dollar amount of all savings
    20  accounts, checking accounts and time accounts which were opened
    21  in that institution during the reporting period.
    22     (b)  The data required to be complied in subsection (a) shall
    23  be itemized by census tracts both within and outside the
    24  Commonwealth. Census tracts for mortgage loans are the tracts
    25  where property securing the loan is located, census tracts for
    26  home improvement loans are the tracts where the property is to
    27  be improved or rehabilitated is located, and census tracts for
    28  deposits are the tracts where the depositor maintains his
    29  principal residence.
    30     (c)  The data required by subsection (a)(1) through (5) and
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     1  by subsection (b) for mortgage loans and home improvement loans
     2  shall be further itemized in order to disclose for each item the
     3  following:
     4     (1)  The number and total dollar amount of mortgage loans and
     5  home improvement loans which are insured under Title II of the
     6  National Housing Act or under Title V of the Housing Act of 1949
     7  or which are guaranteed under Chapter 37 of Title 38, United
     8  States Code (FHA, FmHA, or VA loans).
     9     (2)  The number and total dollar amount of mortgage loans
    10  made to mortgagors who did not, at the time of the execution of
    11  the mortgage intend to reside in the property securing the
    12  mortgage loan.
    13     Section 5.  Report.--(a) The information required to be
    14  compiled by financial institutions pursuant to section 4 shall
    15  be made known in a report.
    16     (b)  Each financial institution shall maintain and make
    17  available the report to the public for inspection and for
    18  copying at a cost not above the actual copying cost to the
    19  financial institution. The financial institution shall make
    20  public the availability of the report by posting notice of such
    21  fact in a conspicuous place in its office. Whenever a financial
    22  institution issues any statements to its customers, the
    23  financial institution shall notify its customers of the reports
    24  availability by including the following language in such
    25  statements:
    26     "The disclosure reports on mortgage loans, home improvement
    27  loans and deposits required to be compiled and made known
    28  pursuant to the Home Mortgage and Deposit Disclosure Act, Act
    29  of                      , P.L.    , No.   , are now available
    30  for your inspection and copying at our office."
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     1     (c)  A financial institution, which is a home office with one
     2  or more branch offices, shall further combine the information
     3  required to be compiled in section 4 for itself and its branches
     4  in one report. This combined report is in addition to the
     5  individual reports maintained and made available by each
     6  financial institution.
     7     (d)  Any information required to be compiled under section 4
     8  and made known in a report under this section shall be
     9  maintained and made available by the financial institution for a
    10  period of five years after the close of the first reporting
    11  period during which such information is required to be
    12  maintained and made available.
    13     (e)  The report required by this section shall be made on a
    14  biannual basis and shall be made available within 60 days after
    15  the end of each reporting period based on the effective date of
    16  this act as the beginning of the reporting period cycle.
    17     Section 6.  Filing of Report with Commonwealth.--(a)
    18  Financial institutions shall file the report, as required by
    19  section 5, with the Department of Banking and the Department of
    20  Community Affairs for each reporting period. This report shall
    21  be filed on a biannual basis, within 60 days after the end of
    22  each reporting period based on the effective date of this act as
    23  the beginning of the reporting period cycle.
    24     (b)  The report, required to be filed under this section,
    25  shall be maintained and made available to the public by the
    26  Department of Banking and the Department of Community Affairs
    27  for a period of five years after the deadline for filing as set
    28  forth in subsection (a).
    29     Section 7.  Disclosure Board.--(a) A disclosure board shall
    30  be established to ensure compliance by financial institutions
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     1  with the provisions of this act and to coordinate the functions
     2  of the Departments of Banking and Community Affairs under this
     3  act. The board shall be composed of seven members of which the
     4  Governor shall appoint five members and the Secretaries of the
     5  Departments of Banking and Community Affairs shall be members,
     6  exofficio.
     7     (b)  The duties of the disclosure board shall be to prescribe
     8  such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes
     9  of this act. These regulations may contain such classifications,
    10  differentiations, or other provisions, and may provide for such
    11  adjustments and exceptions for any class of transactions, as in
    12  the judgment of the disclosure board are necessary and proper to
    13  effectuate the purposes of this act, and prevent circumvention
    14  or evasion thereof, or to facilitate compliance therewith.
    15     Section 8.  Enforcement.--Failure by financial institutions
    16  to comply with the provisions of this act shall result in the
    17  following penalties:
    18     (1)  Financial institutions shall be fined $500 per day for
    19  reports which are not in compliance with the time requirements
    20  of sections 5(e) and 6(a) until such reports are filed with both
    21  the Department of Banking and the Department of Community
    22  Affairs pursuant to section 6 and are made available to the
    23  public pursuant to section 5.
    24     (2)  Financial institutions shall be fined $10,000 for
    25  incomplete and/or inaccurate reports as determined by the board.
    26     Section 9.  Department of Community Affairs.--The Department
    27  of Community Affairs will use the information obtained from the
    28  reports and will study the practices and actions of the
    29  financial institutions in the home financing area in
    30  relationship to its customers and to the housing needs and
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     1  conditions of the Commonwealth. Further, the Department of
     2  Community Affairs will make recommendations concerning
     3  depository investments to agencies and instrumentalities of the
     4  Commonwealth and to local governments on the basis of
     5  information obtained from the reports.
     6     Section 10.  Appropriations.--The sum of            , or as
     7  much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
     8  Department of Banking, the Department of Community Affairs and
     9  the disclosure board to carry out the provisions of this act.
    10     Section 11.  Effective Date.--This act shall take effect
    11  January 1, 1977.













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