However, it faces delays in House
Despite a recent setback, the Senate has passed the Home Buyers Privacy Protection Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at eliminating the misuse of "trigger leads" in mortgage transactions.
The bill’s intent is to address widespread concerns about the sale of "trigger leads", which occur when a consumer’s credit inquiry triggers the sale of their information to third-party lenders. Such practices often result in an influx of unsolicited, and sometimes predatory, communications.
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) praised the Senate’s efforts, emphasizing the importance of protecting homebuyers from unsolicited and misleading communications.
“Trigger leads exploit consumers' financial inquiries, turning them into commodities sold without consent,” said NAMB president Jim Nabors. “It is not unusual for bank customers to receive 100+ misleading texts, phone calls and emails within the first 24 hours of applying for a mortgage and the passage of this bill will go a long way in relieving this burden to homebuyers.”
NAMB urged the House to prioritize passing the bill, citing the challenges that trigger leads pose, particularly during the spring homebuying season. Nabors added that the measure is essential to empowering homebuyers and reducing the burdens caused by predatory practices.
“We must empower homebuyers, not bombard them with predatory calls,” he said.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) also expressed strong support for the legislation.
“We commend Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), as well as the bill's 42 bipartisan cosponsors, for their leadership in introducing and passing this important bill, and we implore the House of Representatives, which has more than 90 bipartisan cosponsors of the bill, to pass it during the remaining days of the current Congress,” MBA president and CEO Bob Broeksmit said in a statement.
Broeksmit reaffirmed MBA’s commitment to addressing the issue, stating, “Absent a House vote this week, MBA plans to work aggressively with industry stakeholders and members of the 119th Congress to advance this needed change to trigger leads policy as soon as possible.”
While the Senate’s passage of the bill was a key victory, efforts to include the trigger leads ban in the NDAA for 2025 were unsuccessful. Advocates remain optimistic but acknowledge the delay as a blow to their push for immediate reforms.
Read more: Efforts to ban trigger leads far from over, says NAMB president
The Home Buyers Privacy Protection Act has garnered backing from a coalition of industry and consumer groups, including the NAMB, Independent Community Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, and the Broker Action Coalition.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on December 2023 by Senators Jack Reed and Bill Hagerty. If enacted, the Home Buyers Privacy Protection Act would prohibit credit reporting agencies from sharing a consumer’s credit report with third parties in connection with residential mortgage transactions unless certain conditions are met.
These conditions include the third party obtaining the consumer’s explicit consent, originating the mortgage, servicing the loan, or maintaining a specified banking relationship with the consumer.
“The passage of the bipartisan Reed/Hagerty bill (S. 3502) is an important step. We urge the leadership of the House of Representatives to quickly consider and adopt S. 3502 without delay and give American homebuyers and owners relief from the insidious industry of mortgage trigger leads,” Nabors said.
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