Questions & Answers

Loan Level

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For postcodes that do not exist in the ABS Statistical Area spreadsheet, what should be reported?
Loan Level

In the case of (a) missing postcodes or (b) multiple post codes, and only one of these can be found in the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard, please use the ASGS Boundaries Online tool from the ABS: http://www.abs.gov.au/geography.

For RL007 Originator/Seller, what response should be given where the original seller has merged with another entity?
Loan Level Transaction Level

The latest information for that entity should be provided in this field. For example, if Originator A changed its name to Originator AB following a merger with another originator to the deal, Originator B, then Originator AB should be recorded for the loans from both originators.

How frequently will the data need to be updated? What fields will need to be refreshed on a monthly basis even mid-way through a collection period?

All relevant nodes will need to be reported on a monthly basis. Loan and pool information is expected to be updated every month. Tranche data should reflect the distribution cycle of the trust. For a quarterly or semi-annual paying security, a 0 should be reported for any values in non-distribution months which would otherwise be applicable in a distribution month. For example, the Coupon Distribution field should be recorded as 0 when no coupon payment has occurred in that month. On the other hand, fields that are not applicable to the deal or tranche should be reported as ND5 (e.g. Scheduled Principal where the tranche is not a controlled amortisation bond). Deal level fields should be updated monthly for those fields that are required to be updated on a monthly basis (e.g. Report Date) or which are based on loan level data (e.g. Loans Originated). Deal level fields not related to loan data can be updated in line with distributions (e.g. Trigger State and Key Role Fee).

Can you please clarify the definition of Timely Payment Cover (TPC) as defined in the consolidated reporting guidance?
Loan Level Transaction Level

Timely Payment Cover (TPC) is any sort of insurance coverage provided by an insurance provider to the lender covering the timely payment of interest on loans. While standard LMI policies usually only cover the principal component of the loan, the inclusion of TPC in the policy also provides the lender with some comfort that interest payments will continue to be received, for the period as defined in the policy, even if the borrower were to default on the loan.

Should arrears be reported on a consolidated or unconsolidated basis?
RL054 RL055

Please report arrears measures on an unconsolidated basis.

For ‘Most Recent Property Valuation Type’ (RL067) and ‘Most Recent Property Valuation Date’ (RL068), if a property has not been revalued, what should be reported?
RL067 RL068

For RL067 if there has been no revaluation use ND5. In this instance a validation rule will check that the original property value (RL064) is equal to the most recent property value (RL067). ND5 will not be an acceptable response if these two values are not equal. For RL068 if there has been no revaluation please enter the date the property was initially valued. There is no data field for ‘original property valuation date’ so there is no repetition in this instance.

RL088 Debt Serviceability Metric: please provide some guidance on the extent of the disclosure required. Is there a maximum allowable field length?
Loan Level RL088

Please provide, at a minimum, the formula used to specify the debt serviceability metric and the associated threshold attached to the metric if applicable. Also provide a description of how each term in the formula is broadly defined. There is no maximum field length, though we would not expect responses to exceed 1000 characters.

For example:
Serviceability passes if: {repayments/[Income - living costs]*0.x} < 1

Followed by detailed description of how repayments, income and living costs are defined.

Which valuation, original or current, should be used when calculating scheduled LTV (RL032)?
Loan Level RL032

Please use the current valuation to calculate the scheduled LTV.

Where a loan has been discharged with a shortfall balance remaining and the LMI claim is either disputed and/or a shortfall balance remains, what current status should the loan be reported as?
Loan Level RL049

As the borrower has ceased to have an interest in the mortgaged property, option 4 (Foreclosure) should be selected.

What does the RBA consider as ‘new’ dwellings?
Loan Level Data Availability RL023

A dwelling type which had not been previously occupied would be considered as ‘new’.

Is this intended to capture if the loan has ever been restructured?
Loan Level RL046

Flag the loan as ‘True’ if the loan has ever been restructured.

Is the field RL027 (Seasoning) intended to be whole months?
Loan Level RL027

No, please report to 2 decimal places. To convert days of seasoning to months of seasoning, divide days of seasoning by 30.

For field RL024, if the loan was through a broker channel to start with, then the top up directly with the client, how is this to be treated?
Loan Level RL024

Please use the channel used at the time the loan was initially originated. So in this example the origination channel would be ‘broker’.

For a loan that was restructured, then has been operating in line with revised terms for more than 6 months, what should be the response for RL046?
Loan Level RL046

If a loan was ever restructured during its life, the answer to RL046 should be ‘True’.

Does RL022 refer to the original settlement date?
Loan Level RL022

Yes. The date the funds from the original loan became available to the borrower.

Can offset account balances be greater than the value of the loan?
Loan Level RL018

Yes. For example if a loan has a scheduled balance of $80,000 a current balance of $30,000 and an offset account balance of $50,000, then the offset account balance is greater than the current loan balance. On the other hand, the offset account balance cannot be greater than the scheduled balance.

Last Credit Discharge Date might be only available for borrowers discharged from bankruptcy within 5 years prior to the loan settlement date, due to data availability issues. In this case, how should this data field be filled out?
Loan Level RL083

At the implementation date, when a bankruptcy/ discharge history is not available past 7 years prior to the loan settlement date, the RBA is willing to accept answers based on 7-year history. However, industry must begin to collect data on Last Credit Discharge Date in order to capture borrowers who have been discharged from bankruptcy within 10 years prior to the loan settlement date (as set out in the reporting guidelines). If a 7-year history is not available please refer to the 'No Data' policy in the table outlining implementation arrangements.

When does a loan conform to the underwriting standards of the mortgage insurer(s) used by the lender?
Loan Level RL020

If an insurer assesses that the loan is ‘insurable’, the loan therefore conforms to the underwriting standards of the mortgage insurer(s) used by the lender.

What should be reported in RL030?
Loan Level RL030

The LTV at the latest approval (including approval reassessments) should be recorded in data field RL030. Should the LTV change due to other (non-approval related) reasons, this new LTV should be recorded in RL031.

What should be entered for RL020 when insurability has not been confirmed by the LMI?
Loan Level RL020

Regardless of whether the loan has LMI or not, the RBA wants to know in this data field whether the loan would meet the underwriting standards of the mortgage insurer(s) usually used by the lender.

What metric details need to be provided in RL088 and RL089?
Loan Level RL088 RL089

Information providers can report any metric in RL088 and RL089 that is used in assessing the borrwer's ability to service the loan, such as the net income surplus method.

What frequency does RL036 refer to?
Loan Level RL036

Data field RL036 refers to the frequency between loan payments.

What does foreclosure mean? What foreclosure amount needs to be specified in RL051 and RL053?
Loan Level RL049 RL051 RL053

Foreclosure of a loan occurs when the borrower has ceased to have an interest in the mortgaged property. The lender has the ability to sell the collateral, is attempting to sell the collateral, or is settling the transfer of the collateral. For RL051, the foreclosure amount to specify is the total cumulative sale receipts from the properties securing the loan. Where the total cumulative amount by which the money received by the lender for selling securing properties that have been foreclosed falls short of the amount owed on the loan, this should be reported in RL053.

Is RL055 (Arrears) intended to capture both the amount of repayments (i.e. principal and interest) in arrears?
Loan Level RL055

The amount in arrears is requested in RL055, which is the amount of principal, interest, fees and charges in arrears.

For RL053, should profit as well as loss on sale be reported?
Loan Level RL053

No. Only amounts that fall short of the loan amount owed should be reported in RL053.

For RL030, where a second loan is approved to pay out an original loan, how should this be reported?
Loan Level RL030

Unless the second loan is replacing the original loan, the approved amount of both loans should be taken into consideration when calculating original LTV.

For loans in default, do we report the total missed contractual payments (principal and interest) for RL050 Default?
Loan Level RL050

Yes, report all amounts in default.

For data field RL052, does this reference the date the property settles or the date that the property is taken into possession?
Loan Level RL052

For RL052, use the date of sale of the foreclosed property. Where there are multiple properties, record the sale date of the most recently sold property.

For data field RL022, what is the appropriate settlement date where there has been further approvals granted?
Loan Level RL022

The most recent settlement date should be applied in the case where further approvals have been granted.

For a loan with a honeymoon period (after which rate will revert to the variable loan rate at the end of a defined period), what is the appropriate interest rate type for RL041?
Loan Level RL041

Please use the option 1. Variable rate loan set at lenders' discretion for life of the loan in this case. This option still holds true when a discount has been offered on more permanent basis.

Does the RBA expect the loan to have the same Loan ID for life, irrespective of any change in characteristics?
Loan Level RL010

The loan identifier should remain the same (unless the loan is discharged).

If additional notes are issued from an existing repo-eligible trust to fund the purchase of new loans, does a new loan template need to be submitted for the entire pool including the newly purchased loans prior to the execution of the transaction?

Where additional or new notes are to be issued from an existing repo-eligible trust to fund the purchase of new loans, the RBA has to be notified of the upcoming transaction prior to its execution. The full suite of templates reflecting the new note balances and the entire collateral pool should be submitted as soon as possible after the transaction has been executed.

If a loan was removed from a pool and re-securitised into another pool the same month, should this be reported in the original pool's loan level template and/or the new pool's template?
Loan Level Implementation Arrangements

If a loan exits the pool then limited fields for that loan must still be reported for the period in which the loan exited the pool. The fields to be reported are: RL001, RL002, RL003, RL004, RL009, RL010, RL012, RL013, RL026, RL049, RL054 and RL055. If the loan enters a new pool which is also subject to RBA reporting requirements then all loan level fields for the loan would need to be reported for the loan in its new pool. In other words, the loan would be reported for both pools: with limited fields for the old pool, and with all fields for the new pool.

Can you please advise if the RBA has a tolerance threshold for fields where we lack information for a small percentage of loans in a transaction?
Loan Level Data Availability Validation

The RBA will make an allowance for a small amount of missing data in information providers' reporting. This will be determined case by case.

According to the table of implementation arrangements for RBA Repo Eligible Securitisations, reporting requirements for Borrower income data fields (RL090 and RL092) can be waived for loans originated before 1 January 2010. Do I need to use an ND code? If so, which one?
Loan Level RL090 RL092

While there are grandfathering arrangements, information providers are welcome to submit loan-level data to the RBA. Whenever a particular data field is not submitted, please use one of the six ‘No data’ (ND) options to indicate the reason.

According to guidance note for RL038 Mortgage Insurance Attachment Point, loans with full LMI coverage will have a value of ‘0’ for the data field while loans without any LMI coverage will have a value of ‘100’. How should this data field be reported if LMI covers everything except for a Mortgage insurance premium which was added to a loan balance at initial funding stage?
Loan Level RL038

If any proportion of a loan balance is not covered by LMI, this should be reflected on RL038. To do this, please calculate and report the ratio of the amount that is not covered by LMI to the sum of the Original Property Values of all the properties used as security for the loan (denominator in LTV calculation).

With relation to RL082 Bankruptcy Flag, we can only identify whether a borrower has been in bankruptcy within 7 years of origination, not the requested 10 years. How should this field be recorded?
Loan Level Data Availability RL082

When a bankruptcy history is not available past 7 years prior to the loan settlement date, the RBA is willing to accept an answer based on 7-year history. In this situation, please mark ‘True’ if a borrower was bankrupt at any point within 7 years prior to the loan settlement date, otherwise indicate ‘False’. If a 7-year history is not available please refer to the 'No Data' policy in the table outlining implementation arrangements.

RL083 Last Credit Discharge Date might be only available for borrowers discharged from bankruptcy within 7 years prior to the loan settlement date, due to data availability issues. In this case, how should this data field be filled out?
Loan Level Data Availability RL083

When a bankruptcy/ discharge history is not available past 7 years prior to the loan settlement date, the RBA is willing to accept answers based on 7-year history. In this situation, mark ‘N/A’ if none of the borrowers to the loan have recorded a default or bankruptcy within 7 years prior to the loan settlement. If a 7-year history is not available please refer to the ‘No Data’ policy in the table outlining implementation arrangements.

Interest on mortgage is charged daily and maybe adjusted on any given day subject to pricing decisions made around RBA rate announcements. How should this be reported for RL045 Interest Rate Reset Interval?
Loan Level RL041 RL045

For variable loans explicitly benchmarked, either temporarily or permanently, against another interest rate or index with a spread, please enter the reset frequency of the benchmark rate. For all the other loans, please enter N/A for this data field. For example, a loan explicitly benchmarked to the RBA's cash rate target with a spread should have 1 for this data field. If the cash rate change is a mere consideration in setting mortgage rate (i.e. not a benchmark), this data field should be N/A.

For RL083 Last Credit Discharge Date, we've received advice from our Legal team that this is another sensitive data field (from a privacy perspective) that could be used with publicly available information to identify individuals under certain scenarios. How do you want us to provide this data to permitted users?
Loan Level RL083

To address privacy concerns regarding the data field, information providers will be required to replace the actual discharge date with the first calendar date of the relevant quarter (that the discharge happened) when templates are made available to permitted users. However, the actual discharge date should still be reported to the RBA.

For RL076 and RL077 Employment Type, which option is applicable when a borrower is a company or trust?
Loan Level RL076 RL077

For non-individual borrowers (i.e. RL080 is not 1− individual), such as companies or trusts, please use ND5, not applicable, to complete these data fields.

For RL062 Property Postcode, how should this data field be completed if the first number of a postcode is starting with ‘0’ (e.g. postcode 0822)?
Loan Level RL062

While the complete four-digit postcode is required to be reported to the RBA for RL062 Property Postcode, the last three digits of the postcode should be redacted when the data templates are made available to permitted users. That is, the data field will have a value of ‘0’ for permitted users if the postcode in question is starting with ‘0’ (e.g. postcode 0822).

For RL050 Default, does the balance of principal payments in default include break costs in the event of a fixed rate loan?
Loan Level RL050

Yes. For this data field, all balances should be included.

For RL011 Approval Amount, can you please confirm that this data field is for the total level of debt considered at time of most recent approval, not the aggregate of all approvals given over the past?
Loan Level RL011

Yes. Please use the total level of debt considered at time of most recent approval to fill out RL011.

What response is acceptable for RL082 and RL083 when these data are not stored in reporting systems, but are collected in the loan origination process?
Loan Level RL082 RL083

As per the ‘No Data’ template, if certain data are not collected in the loan origination process then ‘ND1’ would be an accepted response. If the data are collected at loan origination but are not loaded into the reporting system, then ‘ND2’ would be an accepted response.

Some originators only capture first home owner information when the borrower applies for a First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) directly through the originator. How should information providers provide this data not knowing if the borrower has applied for a FHOG without the originator's involvement?
Loan Level RL073

If the borrower has applied for a FHOG through the originator, ‘True’ must be reported for RL073. If the borrower did not apply for a FHOG through the originator and the originator did not identify if the borrower was a first home buyer in the application process, ‘ND1’ must be reported for RL073. ND1 should be reported for any data not collected at loan origination. If the originator has documented in the loan origination process that the borrower is not a first home buyer, ‘False’ must be recorded in RL073.

Some mortgage originators structure their loans across account and facility levels. The account level represents individual loans split into loan types (e.g. variable, fixed etc) whereas at the facility level, accounts are grouped under a single credit arrangement secured by one or more properties. At which level does the RBA expect information providers to report loan level data?
Loan Level RL009 RL010

The RBA would expect information providers to report data in the loan level template at the account level. The RBA recognises that a lot of borrower information may be repeated using this method when multiple accounts are within a facility. Information providers should also be mindful that multiple accounts within a facility must share a common Group Loan ID (RL009).

Some information providers don't retain the original LTV (RL030) in their reporting systems when an updated LTV has been recorded. In this instance, what should information providers report for RL030 (original LTV)?
Loan Level RL030 RL031

If the original LTV is recorded at loan origination and initially stored in a reporting system, the RBA would expect this data to be reported for RL030. More up-to-date LTVs should be reported for RL031 (Current LTV).

How should RL071 (Lien) be reported when there are a number of properties securing the loan?
Loan Level RL071

Report the lien for the main security property.

How should information providers allocate income from joint loan applications (including investment-related income) across the primary and/or secondary borrower income data fields?
Loan Level RL090 RL092

The RBA is willing to accept the method that information providers choose when allocating income (including investment income) of multiple borrowers across the borrower income data fields; so long as all income used to assess the loan application is reported across the borrower income data fields.

Can information providers report a net income surplus metric as a form of Debt Serviceability metric for RL088/089?
Loan Level RL088 RL089

Yes. Information providers can report any metric in RL088/089 that is used in assessing the borrwer's ability to service the loan, such as net income surplus.

In most instances the Scheduled Balance of a loan will be equal to the Variable Loan Amount, unless there is an amount of the loan which is not drawn down or ‘undrawn’. Is it acceptable for information providers to report the Scheduled Balance for RL040 if there is no undrawn balance?
Loan Level RL040

Yes, if the Scheduled Balance of the loan is equal to the Variable Loan Amount, then enter the Scheduled Balance for RL040. If, however, there is any undrawn balance on the loan then this must be reflected in RL040.

For RL049, is it acceptable for information providers to use their own definitions for loans classified as being in ‘Default’ or ‘Foreclosure’?
Loan Level RL049

Information providers are welcome to use their own internal definitions to classify loans as being in ‘Default’ or ‘Foreclosure’ so long as the classification of any such loan would not be different under the definitions provided by the RBA in the guidance notes to RL049.

As a bankruptcy check from external credit agencies is not mandatory in our loan processing, data field RL082 will be unavailable for significant proportion of our loans. What should be done for this data field?
Loan Level Data Availability RL082

The ‘No data’ 1 (ND1) option can be used in such a case since the data are not collected at the loan origination and processing stages. Please refer to the ‘No data’ policy in the table outlining implementation arrangements.

When a number of loans are secured by one property and not all of the loans are securitised, how should LTV be reported for a loan included in RMBS pool?
Loan Level RL031

When calculating LTV for a loan included in RMBS pool, any non-securitised loan backed by the same property should be taken into consideration. That is, the LTV should be reported on a consolidated basis.

What ‘No Data’ response is acceptable for data not collected at loan origination?
Loan Level Data Availability

If the data are not collected at loan origination, ‘ND1’ would be an acceptable ‘No Data’ response.

What is ‘the mortgage's reference interest rate’ used to describe Scheduled Payment Policy data field?
Loan Level RL019

The mortgage's reference interest rate is the interest rate that a borrower pays on the mortgage.

What ‘No Data’ response is acceptable for data collected at loan application, but then only stored in hard copy format (i.e. not in any electronic system)?
Loan Level Data Availability

If the data are collected at loan origination but are not stored in any electronic system, ‘ND2’ would be an acceptable ‘No Data’ response.

Is it ok to derive scheduled balance of a loan using actual loan balance and amount of prepayments?
Loan Level Data Availability RL013

The scheduled balance of a loan can be estimated as long as it is consistent with the description provided by the RBA in the loan-level template.

How do I fill out Maturity Date data field if a loan maturity date changes as a result of redraws by a borrower?
Loan Level Data Availability RL028

Even though certain data fields, such as Maturity Date, have a ‘static’ reporting frequency, related data should be amended when there is updated information available.

For RL054 ‘Days in Arrears’, will the RBA accept days in arrears ranges? E.g. 0-30 days or 31-60 days.
Loan Level RL054

No, the RBA will not accept day ranges for this data field. The number of days in arrears must be reported.

Will the RBA accept internal credit scores if external credit scores are not used in the loan origination/application process?
RL085 RL086 RL087

Yes. In the absence of an external credit score the RBA will accept internal credit scores as an acceptable response.

Which score would the RBA like if there are multiple scores calculated during the loan origination/application process?
RL085 RL086 RL087

The RBA would accept whichever score the originator deems as most appropriate in determining the credit worthiness of the applicant.

Which option is applicable if only part of borrower's income has been verified?
RL091 RL093

Where more than one option is applicable, please choose the option that represents the greatest portion of income.

What is the interpretation of ‘Lien’ in RL071?
RL071

Lien is the seniority on liquidation of the property. In the event of liquidation of a property, proceeds from the sale of the property(ies) would first be used to meet the all unpaid borrowings secured by the property(ies) to the 1st lien. To the extent that the proceeds from the sale of the property(ies) meet the borrower's obligations to the 1st lien lender, any additional proceeds from the sale of the property(ies) are made available to the 2nd lien and so on and so forth.

What is a ‘loan guarantee’ in RL014?
RL014

A loan guarantee is where the loan is secured wholly or in part by a guarantee given by a third party to the loan for the purposes of providing additional security or serviceability.

Under which option would a bulk LMI policy be categorised into?
RL021

A bulk policy should be categorised as a Group (pool) insurance policy.

Under which employment option would part-time or contract workers be categorised into?
RL076 RL077

For the purpose of reporting to the RBA. Part-time workers should be categorised as PAYG employees and contract workers as self-employed. Part-time contract workers should be categorised as self-employed.

If the loan does not have LMI, is ‘N/A’ an acceptable response to RL020?
RL020

No. N/A will not be an acceptable answer to RL020. Regardless of whether the loan has LMI or not, the RBA wants to know in this data field whether the loan would meet the underwriting standards of the mortgage insurer(s) usually used by the lender.

Can an actual customer account number be used as the Unique Borrower ID?
RL072

No. The Unique Borrower ID must not correspond to any other sensitive identifiers such as actual account or customer numbers. The ID should be distinctive.