Collecting disaggregated race and ethnicity data a full year before the revised Home Mortgage Disclosure Act regulations become effective will benefit covered creditors as they become used to the new requirements and make the necessary system adjustments to accommodate a new wave of granular HMDA data, according to industry attorneys. A policy statement issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in late September creates a temporary safe harbor for lenders that take advantage of the one-year window – Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2017 – to collect disaggregated ethnic and racial information in their home-loan application if borrowers agree to provide it. Previous amendments to HMDA will require...