Annual notice of asset-size exemption threshold.

The Federal Reserve Board, on December 19, 2003, published its annual notice of the asset-size exemption threshold for depository institutions under Regulation C (Home Mortgage Disclosure).

The asset-size exemption for depository institutions was raised to $33 million based on the annual percentage change in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the twelve-month period ending in November 2003. As a result, depository institutions with assets of $33 million or less as of December 31, 2003, are exempt from data collection in 2004. An institution's exemption from collecting data in 2004 does not affect its responsibility to report the data it was required to collect in 2003.

The Board also is publishing technical amendments to Regulation C and the staff commentary to conform them to changes in the standards for defining metropolitan statistical area boundaries made by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The adjustment and technical amendments became effective January 1, 2004.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and the Board's Regulation C require most depository institutions and certain for-profit, nondepository institutions to collect, report, and disclose data about applications for, and originations and purchases of home purchase loans, refinancings, and home improvement loans. Data reported include the type, purpose, and amount of the loan; the ethnicity, race, sex, and income of the loan applicant; and the location of the property. The purposes of HMDA include helping to determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities and assisting in fair lending enforcement.