CUNA, NAFCU and the Independent Community Bankers of America have written a joint letter to two key Senators requesting they strip a provision from a transportation bill, which could require additional mortgage reporting to the IRS.
In the July 16, 2015 letter to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the three trade groups emphasized their opposition to a provision in a transportation bill that would mandate financial institutions report to the IRS the date of origination of each mortgage, the outstanding principal of each loan and the property's address.
Inhofe and Boxer are the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which must take up the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 Part II. The act passed the House of Representatives on July 15.
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"Community banks and credit unions did nothing to contribute to the recent financial crisis, but regulators continue to issue new rules, which have reconstructed every aspect of the mortgage lending industry in recent years, with a disproportionate impact on the smallest institutions that have fewer staff assigned to compliance and a smaller asset base over which to minimize the impact of the cost," the associations argued. "The compliance burden has increased sharply, changing the economics of the mortgage business and driving consolidation, which will result in reduced consumer choice and less competitive rates and fees.
"Together, banks and credit unions have engaged Congress with the common goal to provide meaningful, needed and long-overdue regulatory relief," the letter continued. "Thousands of bankers and credit unions have passionately advocated for relief from the regulatory burdens they face on a daily basis. To create yet another new reporting requirement – increasing rather than reducing regulatory burden and expense, especially for the smallest lenders – would be a step backwards and a jarring contrast of expectations for mortgage lenders and their customers."
The bill reauthorizes federal support for surface transportation programs through the Dec. 15, 2015 and seeks to offset that support with $8 billion in spending and revenue measures, according to an analysis of the measure from the House Ways and Means Committee. According to the analysis, the additional reporting of mortgage data would save the government $1.806 billion, which is currently being lost through inaccurate reporting.
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