What type of loans must be reported on the HMDA report?

The correct answer is that all loans meeting the definition of a legal loan must be reported on the HMDA report, regardless of their status, including whether they were approved, denied, or withdrawn. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) mandates that lenders collect and report data on mortgage applications to promote transparency and prevent discriminatory lending practices.

This requirement encompasses a wide range of loans, allowing regulatory agencies to analyze lending patterns and ensure compliance with fair lending laws. Reporting all loans provides a comprehensive view of the lender's activities and enables better oversight of the mortgage market.

In contrast, focusing only on approved loans would limit the data significantly and would not capture the full spectrum of lending practices. Similarly, only reporting denied loans would also skew the understanding of lending behaviors, as it would omit successful applications. Lastly, restricting reporting to loans above a certain value would create gaps in data that could hide issues affecting lower-value loans, which are equally important for analysis and enforcement of fair lending.