Higher Priced Mortgage Loans (HPML)

Higher Priced Mortgage Loans are defined as consumer-purpose, closed-end loans secured by a consumer’s principal dwelling that have an annual percentage rate (APR) equal to or greater than the Average Prime Offer Rate (APOR) by 1.5 percentage points for first-lien loans, or 3.5 percentage points for subordinate-lien loans for a comparable transaction.

The APOR is published weekly by the federal government, and the two files (one for fixed rates and one for adjustable rates) are available for download at the FFIEC's web site.

Please note that it is necessary that these files be updated weekly, or else the SCEX will not be able to determine if a loan is a HPML for loans whose lock in dates fall outside the range of dates provided in the APOR files.

Sample Request

The following is a sample SCEX request for a HPML calculation:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE inHPML SYSTEM "inHPML.dtd">
<inHPML DataDirPath="C:\SCEX\">
  <Lien Type="first" Jumbo="false" />
  <Loan RateType="fixed" />
  <LockInDate>2009-12-22</LockInDate>
  <RegZApr>5.500</RegZApr>
  <TermInYears>30</TermInYears>
</inHPML>

Sample Response

The following is the XML response associated with the request above:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE outHPML SYSTEM "outHPML.dtd">
<outHPML>
  <Description>Valid Calculation</Description>
  <IsHpml Apor="5.000" Spread="1.5" Difference="-1.0" Date="2009-12-21">false</IsHpml>
</outHPML>