A diverse coalition of 23 organizations and lenders, led by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), sent a letter to leadership of the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee, urging movement on the trigger leads bill, known as the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act of 2024.
Notable mentions within the coalition are the Broker Action Coalition, which is partnered with Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), and National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB). Others include the National Association of Realtors (NAR), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), as well as lenders like Rocket Mortgage, Guild Mortgage, and Equity Prime Mortgage. The full list of groups is included in the letter.
The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act of 2024 was introduced as S. 3502 by Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) in the Senate, and H.R. 7297 by Representatives John Rose (R-Tenn.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) in the House.
The senate bill seeks to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in which credit reporting agencies (CRA) are permitted by law to resell consumer information to prospective creditors without explicit consent from the consumer, as long as the creditor can make a “firm offer of credit.”
If enacted, it would allow for trigger leads to be permitted under FCRA only in limited circumstances during a real estate transaction. For example, a CRA would not be able to furnish a trigger lead to a third party unless the third party has certified to the CRA that it has “originated the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer,” “is the servicer of the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer,” “or is an insured depository institution or insured credit union and holds a current account for the consumer,” or the consumer explicitly consents to such solicitations from other lenders.
The official text in the bill states:
“(B) LIMITATION.—If a person requests a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency in connection with a credit transaction involving a residential mortgage loan, that agency may not, solely on the basis of that request, furnish that consumer report to another person unless that other person—
“(i) has submitted documentation to that agency certifying that such other person has, pursuant to paragraph (1), the authorization of the consumer to whom the consumer report relates; or
“(ii) (I) has originated the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer;
“(II) is the servicer of the current residential mortgage loan of the consumer; or
“(III) (aa) is an insured depository institution or insured credit union; and
“(bb) holds a current account for the consumer to whom the consumer report relates.”.
“In short, the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act would stop the abusive use of trigger leads while narrowly preserving them for legitimate uses such as existing customer relationships,” the letter stated. “We urge you to support this bipartisan solution for consumers and promptly consider it for markup within your respective committees.”
The letter also explains its intentions behind curbing the use of trigger leads, saying that entities that have no relationship with the consumer are buying trigger leads and “bombarding the applicant with hundreds of confusing calls that seek to lure them away from their chosen lenders.” It also adds that consumers often call to complain to their mortgage lender they have chosen, accusing that company of selling their data.
