Congress passes Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requiring banks to report lending by zip code

Congress passes the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA, P.L. 94-200), requiring federally regulated financial institutions to disclose mortgage lending data by census tract or zip code. The law responds to community groups' demands for transparency after the 1968 Fair Housing Act failed to stop discriminatory lending. For the first time, civil rights organizations and journalists can map where banks are and are not lending, making redlining patterns visible and verifiable. The HMDA becomes a foundational tool for Community Reinvestment Act enforcement.