The House today passed by voice vote legislation prohibiting credit reporting firms from selling mortgage applicant information to lenders who then barrage those same consumers with unwanted solicitations. The bipartisan Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to eliminate abusive mortgage “trigger leads,” only allowing contact information to be sold to third parties under limited circumstances. The American Bankers Association supported the bill, noting in a memo to lawmakers that it would “curb the abusive use of mortgage credit ‘trigger leads’ while narrowly preserving them for legitimate, transparent and accountable uses.”
The Senate passed a slightly different version of the bill earlier this month. ABA is engaging with congressional stakeholders to ensure passage of a uniform, conforming bill in both chambers so that the legislation can be signed into law by President Trump.