Truth in lending (Regulation Z): Mortgage rates and fees; dollar amount adjustment,

[Federal Register: November 5, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 214)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 60335]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr05no99-2]

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 226

[Regulation Z; Docket No. R-1051]

Truth in Lending

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice of adjustment of dollar amount.

SUMMARY: The Board is publishing an adjustment to the dollar amount that triggers Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) requirements for certain mortgages bearing fees above a certain amount. The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 sets forth rules for home-secured loans in which the total points and fees payable by the consumer at or before loan consummation exceed the greater of $400 or 8 percent of the total loan amount. The Board has annually adjusted the $400 amount based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index that is in effect on June 1. The adjustment for 2000 is $451. EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Hentrel, Staff Attorney, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at (202) 452-3667. For the users of Telecommunications Device for the Deaf only, please contact Diane Jenkins at (202) 452-3544.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Truth in Lending Act (TILA; 15 U.S.C. 1601-1666j) requires creditors to disclose credit terms and the cost of consumer credit as an annual percentage rate. The act requires additional disclosures for loans secured by a consumer's home, and permits consumers to cancel certain transactions that involve their principal dwelling. TILA is implemented by the Board's Regulation Z (12 CFR part 226).

On March 24, 1995, the Board published amendments to Regulation Z implementing the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA), contained in the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103-325, 108 Stat. 2160 (60 FR 15463). These amendments, which became effective on October 1, 1995, are contained in Sec. 226.32 of the regulation and impose additional disclosure requirements and substantive limitations on certain closed- end mortgage loans bearing rates or fees above a certain percentage or amount. As enacted, the statute requires creditors to comply with the HOEPA rules if the total points and fees payable by the consumer at or before loan consummation exceed the greater of $400 or 8 percent of the total loan amount. TILA and Regulation Z provide that the $400 figure shall be adjusted annually on January 1 by the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that was reported on the preceding June 1. (15 U.S.C. 1602(aa)(3) and 12 CFR 226.32(a)(1)(ii)). The Board adjusted the $400 amount to $441 for 1999.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes consumer-based indices monthly, but does not ``report'' a CPI change on June 1; adjustments are reported in the middle of each month. The Board uses the CPI-U index, which is based on all urban consumers and represents approximately 80 percent of the U.S. population, as the index for adjusting the $400 dollar figure. The adjustment to the CPI-U index reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on May 15, 1999, was the CPI-U index ``in effect'' on June 1, and reflects the percentage increase from April 1998 to April 1999. The adjustment to the $400 figure below reflects a 2.3 percent increase in the CPI-U index for this period and is rounded to whole dollars for ease of compliance.

Adjustment

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, for purposes of determining whether a mortgage transaction is covered by 12 CFR 226.32 (based on the total points and fees payable by the consumer at or before loan consummation), a loan is covered if the points and fees exceed the greater of $451 or 8 percent of the total loan amount, effective January 1, 2000.

By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, acting through the Secretary of the Board under delegated authority, November 1, 1999. Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 99-29003Filed11-4-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210-01-P

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