Executive Order to Expand Mortgage Credit Access
Summary
The White House issued Executive Order "Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit" directing the CFPB, Fed, FDIC, FHFA, NCUA, OCC, HUD, VA, and USDA to consider actions reducing mortgage lending compliance burdens under Dodd-Frank. The order specifically targets relief for banks under $100 billion in assets and aims to reverse declining bank participation in mortgage lending by modernizing ATR/QM requirements, TILA-RESPA disclosure timing, appraisal regulations, and supervisory guidance.
What changed
The executive order addresses documented compliance burden concerns from Dodd-Frank Act implementation, identifying reduced bank participation in mortgage lending—particularly among banks below $100 billion in assets—as a policy concern. The order directs the CFPB to consider updating ATR/QM requirements by removing burdensome elements, replacing TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure timing rules with materiality-based standards, modernizing right to rescission processes, raising Regulation C exemption thresholds, and excluding residential development lending from commercial real estate concentration guidance. Broader regulatory directives include revising supervisory guidance to evaluate ATR effectiveness rather than technical compliance, tailoring capital risk weights for portfolio mortgages and servicing rights, and modernizing appraisal regulations to expand alternative valuation models.
Compliance officers at mortgage lenders and servicers should monitor for forthcoming agency actions and rulemakings as regulators implement the executive order's directives. Banks under $100 billion in assets may see reduced compliance costs through higher Regulation C thresholds and revised supervisory approaches. The order instructs agencies to consider enforcement policy changes discouraging monetary penalties except for willful, knowing, or reckless violations. Comment opportunities will arise as specific regulatory proposals are published.
What to do next
- Monitor agency rulemakings and guidance updates as they implement the executive order directives
- Review mortgage lending policies in anticipation of ATR effectiveness-based supervision rather than technical compliance review
- Assess capital and risk weighting implications as regulators revise capital regulations for portfolio mortgages and servicing rights
Archived snapshot
Mar 31, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
March 30, 2026
White House issues executive order to expand mortgage credit access
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On March 13, the White House issued an executive order titled “Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit.” The order states that statutory and regulatory changes adopted over the past two decades, specifically the Dodd-Frank Act, have increased compliance burdens related to originating and servicing mortgages — which have contributed to a decline in bank participation in mortgage lending, particularly among banks with fewer than $100 billion in assets. To improve access to mortgage credit, reduce regulatory burdens, and promote innovation and competition, the executive order directs the CFPB and the various federal financial regulators (including the Fed, FDIC, FHFA, NCUA and OCC) to consider a range of actions.
The order directs the CFPB to consider:
- updating Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage (ATR/QM) requirements by removing “unnecessarily burdensome” elements
- replacing TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure timing rules with a materiality-based standard
- modernizing the right to rescission by promoting digital processes or exempting refinance transactions entirely
- amending Regulation C to raise the exemption threshold for smaller banks and reduce compliance burdens
revising guidance, in coordination with the Fed, FDIC, OCC and NCUA, to exclude one- to four-family residential development lending from commercial real estate concentration guidance
The executive order instructs the broader group of regulators to consider:revising supervisory guidance to evaluate mortgage lenders on the effectiveness of their ATR determinations rather than technical compliance
revising capital regulations to tailor risk weights for portfolio mortgages, servicing rights and warehouse lines of credit
modernizing appraisal regulations to expand the use of alternative valuation models and reduce appraisal requirements for low-risk transactions
modernizing collateral valuation and transfer systems between the Fed and the FHLBanks
expanding access to FHLB advances tied to mortgage assets
refocusing the FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Program on faster execution for small-scale housing projects
promulgating enforcement policies that discourage monetary penalties except where violations are willful, knowing or reckless
Finally, the order tasks HUD and VA with aligning appraisal standards and clarifying the distinction between habitability concerns and cosmetic issues, and directs them, along with the FHFA and USDA, to consider actions promoting digital mortgages and standardizing acceptance of electronic processes.
[View source.]
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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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