HMDA Geocoding Services: Compliance-Grade Accuracy for Your LAR
ge•o•code [jee-uh-kohd] n.
A set of letters or numbers representing the geographic location of a point in the plane of the Earth.
- vt. geocoded, geocoding, geocodes.
- The process of converting a residential or commercial property's street address into latitude and longitude coordinates.
- Translating the latitude and longitude into a set of geographic codes for analysis and reporting.
- Providing the capability of mapping the location of the property against demographics associated with the geographic codes.
Most geocoding professionals will agree that geocoding is a relative term, depending upon the specific application and desired output. For example, when geocodes are used for HMDA/CRA Compliance, a high degree of precision on as many records as possible is required; the use of geocodes for marketing purposes and/or basic analysis may allow for lower precision and completeness levels. Selecting the right geocoding solution requires careful consideration of the purpose, expected volume and frequency of processing, the desired degree of precision and the immediacy of the results.
RATA Associates, LLC has specialized in providing outsourced geocoding for the financial services industry since 1987. Using a proprietary process, RATA leverages a dozen proprietary and commercially-available geocoding data sources organized in a 13-step process against one another for every address we geocode in order to derive the highest precision result possible. See how that accuracy is actually measured.
RATA’s highly skilled professional staff geocodes millions of address records every year; there’s simply no substitute for that kind of experience. Whichever geocoding solution you choose, our Geocoding Services team can help you match the right level of precision to what you actually need.
Seven Ways to Get an Address Geocoded
They differ on precision, on what happens to the addresses an automated engine cannot resolve, and on whether you send a file or call an API. The rest of this page describes each one in full.
| Service | Precision | Built for | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeoPlus™ HMDA/CRA | Highest possible. Automated sources first, then a technician works the addresses that fail interactively. | LAR records going to a regulatory agency, where every record needs an answer. | Send a file — results in 2–3 business days |
| Fully Automated Processing | Seven in-house engines, best result of the seven. No online sources, no manual step. | Portfolio analysis alongside HMDA/CRA data — motor vehicle and credit card loans. Usually enough for FCC Form 477. | Send a file |
| Market-Grade | Single pass through our top data source. Not 100% complete by design. | Marketing and area targeting, where demographic qualities matter more than every record matching. | Send a file |
| BISG proxies | GeoPlus precision, plus race, ethnicity and sex proxies derived from it. | Fair lending analysis where applicant demographics were not collected. | Send a file with forename and surname |
| QuickPoint™ API | Regulatory precision, one address at a time. | Loan origination systems that need the geography at application time, not after. | REST over TLS, JSON back, near-instant |
| ZOOM Geocoder | Eight online geocoders run at once and compared on one map. | The addresses nothing else resolves — and auditing a tract you have already filed. | Web tool, or integrated into your system |
| Custom | Defined with you: which elements, what accuracy, what completeness. | Anything the six above do not cover. | Scoped by the Geocoding Services team |
What Is GeoPlus™ Compliance-Grade Geocoding?
Our premium GeoPlus geocoding is designed to provide Compliance-grade™ geocoding results at the highest precision possible for all records submitted. RATA achieves this high precision by processing every record through a combination of proprietary, commercial and online geocode data sources to find the highest precision value possible. When these processes fail to provide an acceptable result, our Geocode Technicians will work interactively with each address to scrub and correct address deficiencies and find the correct geocodes for the address provided.
No single address-matching engine or reference file returns 100% complete and accurate results on its own, which is why GeoPlus runs every record through multiple sources first and then has a technician work interactively on whatever is left over.
Typical users of GeoPlus geocoding solutions are banks, credit unions and mortgage companies who are required under HMDA/CRA to provide the most accurate geocode results for every record submitted to their regulatory agency. FCC Form 477 reporters may also opt for this higher degree of accuracy to meet their bi-annual reporting requirements.
How Does Fully Automated Processing (FAP) Geocoding Work?
Our standard geocoding, known as Fully Automated Processing or FAP, processes all records through seven of our in-house automated geocoders and returns the best result possible without the use of online sources or manual intervention. This process is best suited to records that are not meant for HMDA/CRA reporting but may be analyzed in conjunction with HMDA/CRA application data, such as Motor Vehicle and Credit Card loans. The results of the FAP process easily bests any single source geocoding solution and in fact are usually sufficient for FCC Form 477 bi-annual reporting for most broadband and telephone providers.
Typical users of FAP geocoding are banks and credit unions who desire to analyze their extended loan portfolio containing application data that is not reported with their HMDA/CRA reporting. FCC Form 477 reporters are typically able to utilize the FAP process reliably to obtain the precision necessary to meet FCC requirements.
What Is Market-Grade Geocoding Used For?
If your company simply needs geocoding for marketing purposes, then RATA's Market-Grade (Bulk/Centroid) geocoding services are the affordable option. Market-Grade processing is used for business applications that do not require highly accurate or 100% complete address matching. All address files received for Market-Grade geocoding are processed through our top geocoding data source to provide the best single pass geocode result possible.
RATA's Standard Bulk geocoding service utilizes three of our seven address matching engines. For an additional fee, RATA offers Enhanced Market-Grade processing that includes one additional address matching routine that will typically improve the composite file match rate and the overall file accuracy level.
Typical users of Market-Grade geocoding are companies interested in targeting certain areas for business opportunities using demographic qualities associated with geocoding results.
What Is Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding (BISG)?
In September of 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) improved upon existing methodologies for deriving the race of an individual when it is unknown. This process combined the Census Bureau's Surname List from the 2010 census with the block group, census tract or ZIP code demographics of the area to estimate the individual's race. This methodology is now considered the de facto standard in estimating race and has been used by the CFPB in litigation on numerous occasions. RATA was one of the first to provide this method by combining the results of our GeoPlus geocoding service with the Census Bureau's surname list to derive the BISG Race Proxy given the surname of the individual.
We have refined the BISG process and have also introduced two other proxy methodologies into the process for ethnicity based upon surname and sex based upon forename. When RATA performs BISG processing, the customer provides the forename and surname of the individual (up to two). We then geocode using our GeoPlus geocoding service to obtain the highest precision possible, then using the appropriate demographics based upon the geocode precision, we derive the BISG Race Proxy, Ethnicity Proxy and Sex Proxy for each individual.
Custom Geocoding
RATA will customize its geocoding services for business applications whose needs are not completely met by any of our existing geocoding services. Our Geocoding Services department will work with you to define which data elements you need returned, the level of accuracy and completeness desired, the format(s) you will use to send us your address data, and the format(s) you want us to use to return the geocoded results. If you are looking for data elements that RATA does not have available, be sure to speak with our sales staff. We will be happy to research alternative data sources to solve your unique geocoding needs.
How Does RATA's QuickPoint™ API Geocode Addresses in Real Time?
RATA's QuickPoint Web Services (QPWS) allows for seamless integration between our top geocoding data source and customer's data processing systems. Used heavily by Loan Origination Systems (LOS), QPWS allows the customer's system to submit address data to RATA's QPWS server and receive a nearly instantaneous response complete with all of our typical geocode data elements. The advantage to this method of "up-front" geocoding is the ability to determine what products can be offered to the applicant based upon the demographics of the area.
From a technical perspective, QPWS is a RESTful API service that takes standard HTTP GET and POST requests over a TLS connection, then processes and returns JSON responses of the corresponding geocoding data elements. All geocodes derived through QPWS are of regulatory precision and the user can elect to receive either a centroid or no result on records that cannot be geocoded.
ZOOM Geocoder
The ZOOM Geocoder is a web-based tool that is designed for geocoding hard-to-find addresses as well as auditing other processes to make sure they are producing correct results. The ZOOM Geocoder utilizes 8 of the Internet's best and most up-to-date geocoders and mapping programs available. If these automated geocoders can't find an address, no automated tool can. It then consolidates the results from all of the geocoders and shows them on a RATA-enhanced Google map. By analyzing the results displayed, the user can compare all of the results on one page and select the correct tract quickly and easily.
The ZOOM Geocoder can also be integrated into a customer's data processing system directly if desired.
The overview follows a single problem address through the tool. You watch the query go out to every geocoder at once, the answers come back and land together on the map, and any disagreement between them becomes visible, which is the part a batch process hides from you. From there it is a judgement call on one screen rather than a research task across several tabs. The same view is what makes ZOOM useful as an audit: run an address you have already geocoded and you can see immediately whether the engines agree with the tract you filed.
What a Dozen Sources Get You That One Cannot
We do not publish a fixed count, and that is deliberate rather than evasive: the mix is maintained. Sources get added, replaced and retired as better reference data becomes available, and different stages of the process draw on different sources, so the working number moves around ten to twelve. Pinning it to a single figure would mean freezing the stack, which is the opposite of what you want from a geocoding provider.
Every automated geocoder has addresses it cannot resolve. The question is what happens to those addresses next.
Common Questions About RATA Geocoding Services
What is Compliance-grade geocoding?
Compliance-grade geocoding meets FFIEC standards for HMDA reporting accuracy, using Census Bureau TIGER data to assign precise census tract, county, and MSA codes to property addresses with 95%+ accuracy.
What is the turnaround time for RATA geocoding services?
GeoPlus full-service geocoding typically delivers results within 2-3 business days. Rush processing is available for urgent HMDA filing deadlines. QuickPoint Web Services provides instant real-time results via API.
How accurate is RATA's geocoding compared to other providers?
RATA achieves 95%+ accuracy using a proprietary 13-step process against a dozen proprietary, commercial and online geocode data sources, no one of which is treated as authoritative. Our GeoPlus service includes manual verification by geocoding technicians for addresses the automated sources cannot resolve.
Can RATA geocode addresses in US territories?
Yes, RATA is one of the few providers able to geocode addresses in American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands using proprietary geocoders designed specifically for these territories. We rely heavily on proprietary geocoders designed by RATA, since most commercial geocoders ignore these areas.
What is RATA’s geocoding fallback hierarchy?
RATA will always attempt to obtain Absolute Match values for all addresses being processed. If an address is unable to be assigned an Absolute Match after manual interaction, then fallback methods will be utilized. RATA will always return the most precise fallback value that can be determined for a particular address (ZIP+2, 5 digit ZIP, City or County). All records containing fallback values will be assigned Geocode precision codes so that they might be reviewed, corrected and re-geocoded.
Can RATA geocode Rural Routes and P.O. Boxes?
RATA can correctly geocode Rural Routes in most cases. Many geocoders will assign values that correlate to the Post Office that does the delivery, but our process involves data that can in most cases geocode more closely to the actual property location on the Rural Route itself. As for PO Boxes, RATA’s process in most cases returns the geocode values for the Post Office location itself, since this is where the PO Box resides.
How does GeoPlus work?
Using a proprietary methodology developed and improved upon since 1994, RATA takes your addresses and runs them through a dozen proprietary and commercial geocode data sources in a 13-step process that returns the highest precision geocode possible. The exact number varies by process and over time, because sources are added and replaced as better reference data becomes available.
- All addresses are standardized using both U.S. Postal Service CASS certified software and manual techniques.
- All addresses are processed through a thirteen-stage process designed to maximize the number of accurate matches.
Why is GeoPlus right for compliance applications?
Regulators emphasize that the starting point of HMDA and CRA compliance is good quality data. The single most important aspect of data quality is how well it is geocoded. RATA Associates has assisted lending institutions with HMDA and CRA compliance since 1987. When you use RATA’s Service Geocoding you will:
- Be spared the substantial time required to interactively or manually match addresses to the correct census tract.
- No longer need to rely on Zip Code centroiding to assign a census tract.
- Be confident that your next exam’s geocoding results will meet all regulatory requirements.
- Have more time to focus on analyzing your data.
What data elements come back with a geocoded record?
Thirty-four fields across geography, postal coding and demographics — the full list is in the data elements table below. All RATA geocoding solutions provide them; some geocoders cannot provide every field, so in some cases a field may be blank.
Data Elements Provided With Every Geocode
All RATA geocoding solutions provide the following fields. Some geocoders cannot provide all of the fields listed, so in some cases the fields may be blank.
| Geographic data elements | Postal coding possibilities | Demographic data elements |
|---|---|---|
| MSA/MD | Standardized Street Address | Census Tract Income Indicator |
| FIPS State Code | Standardized City | Tract Median Family Income Percent |
| FIPS County Code | Standardized State | Decennial Tract Median Family Income |
| Census Tract | Standardized ZIP Code | Decennial MSA/MD Median Family Income |
| Census Block Group | Standardized ZIP+4 Code | FFIEC Adjusted MSA/MD Median Family Income |
| Census Block | Standardized Urbanization (Puerto Rico) * | Minority Population |
| Latitude | Delivery Point * | Minority Population Percent |
| Longitude | Delivery Point Check Digit * | ** |
| Time Zone * | Carrier Route (CRRT) * | |
| Congress Number * | eLot Number * | |
| Congressional District * | eLot Order * | |
| FIPS Place Code * | Address Type * | |
| GNIS Feature Code * | ZIP Code Type * |
* Optional element provided upon request
** Additional demographic data elements available upon request
Geocoding Software
Everything above is RATA doing the geocoding for you. If you would rather keep it in-house, the same geocoding sits inside the Comply Suite, and ZOOM handles the addresses no automated engine can resolve.
