Trigger Leads Bill Passes House; MBA Reacts
MBA’s President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, released the following statement on the U.S. House of Representatives passing the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808):
“The passage of this consequential bill, on the heels of the Senate passing its similar bill on June 12, is another important step forward in our fight to provide relief for consumers who face a torrent of unwanted emails, texts, and phone calls the moment they apply for a mortgage.
After two years of unrelenting advocacy efforts, MBA and its members are more optimistic than ever that the abusive use of mortgage credit trigger leads is close to an end.
We thank House Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and lead bill sponsors Rep. John Rose (R-TN) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) for their critical leadership during each step of the legislative process, as well as all lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill.
MBA will continue to work with the sponsors and congressional leadership in both chambers to reconcile the minor differences between the two bills so that one bill can be passed and signed into law as soon as possible.”
On June 23, MBA sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters outlining its position of strong support.
Click here to read the letter.
Six months after enactment, the legislation would eliminate the abusive use of mortgage credit trigger leads while preserving their deployment in appropriately limited circumstances. Under this bill, trigger leads would be permissible under the Fair Credit Reporting Act only in limited circumstances during a real estate transaction and only to provide a firm offer of credit. A credit reporting agency (“CRA”) would not be able to furnish a trigger lead to a third party unless the third party has certified to the CRA that either:
• The consumer explicitly consents to such solicitations;
• The third party has originated the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer;
• The third party is the servicer of the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer; or
• The third party is an insured depository institution or insured credit union and holds a current account for the consumer.
What’s next: The Senate and House will need to reconcile the minor differences between the two bills. The House-passed bill contains language for an innocuous Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on the value of trigger leads by text message. MBA will continue to work with the bill sponsors and congressional leadership in both chambers to get a uniform bill passed and signed into law as quickly as possible.
For more information, please contact George Rogers at (202) 557-2797, Ethan Saxon at (202) 557-2913, Rachel Kelley at (202) 557-2816 and/or Madisyn Rhone at (202) 557-2741.
