On March 13, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit,” directing federal financial regulators to consider a broad set of revisions to the mortgage regulatory framework. The order is the most comprehensive signal to date that the administration intends to revisit core elements of the post-Dodd-Frank compliance infrastructure governing mortgage origination and servicing, with a particular focus on reducing burdens for community banks (institutions with fewer than $30 billion in assets) and “smaller banks” (those with fewer than $100 billion in assets).
The order does not itself amend any existing statute or regulation. Rather, it directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and other federal banking regulators to consider a detailed set of potential reforms, many of which would require notice-and-comment rulemaking. Nonetheless, the scope of the order is significant, and financial institutions, lenders, and servicers should take note of what may be coming.
The Order’s Premise
The executive order proceeds from the position that statutory and regulatory changes adopted over the past two decades, including rules promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act, have increased the compliance costs of mortgage origination and servicing, reduced bank participation in the mortgage market, and concentrated credit and liquidity risk in nonbank lenders. Community banks, the order asserts, have been disproportionately affected, and creditworthy borrowers — particularly rural households and low- and moderate-income borrowers — have seen reduced access to credit as a result.
Origination Reform: ATR/QM and TRID
The order directs the CFPB to consider proposing amendments to Regulation Z that would tailor origination requirements for smaller banks. Among the most notable provisions:
The CFPB is directed to consider a potentially broader Qualified Mortgage (QM) safe harbor for loans that banks retain in their portfolios, as well as modifications to, or exemptions from, the points-and-fees caps applicable to small-balance mortgage loans. The order also calls for removing elements of the Ability-to-Repay (ATR) and QM underwriting requirements that the administration views as unnecessarily burdensome.
On the TRID front, the order calls for replacing the existing timing rules with a “materiality-based standard” that would preserve consumer clarity while reducing closing delays. The shift from prescriptive timing requirements to a standard focused on whether a disclosure error caused actual borrower harm would represent a fundamental change in how lenders manage closing timelines.
The order also addresses rescission rights, directing the CFPB to consider modernizing the right to rescission through expanded electronic and digital processes, and potentially exempting certain refinance transactions, including cash-out refinances, from rescission rights altogether.
HMDA Modernization
The CFPB is directed to consider amendments to Regulation C that would raise the asset threshold for exemption from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data collection and reporting requirements for smaller banks, exclude inquiries from the scope of reportable data, and address concerns that publicly available HMDA data can be combined with other data sources to identify individual borrowers. For institutions currently bearing the cost of HMDA compliance — including the software, training, and quality-control infrastructure it requires — a narrower reporting scope or higher exemption threshold could yield meaningful operational savings.
It is worth noting, however, that the HMDA asset-based exemption threshold is set by statute. Whether the CFPB’s exception authority is broad enough to modify that threshold by regulation is a question that could face legal challenges.
Shift in Supervisory and Enforcement Posture
The order directs federal banking regulators to revise their supervisory guidance to ensure that examiners evaluate mortgage lending based on the effectiveness of a lender’s underwriting policies and ability-to-repay practices, rather than the existing emphasis on process-driven and technical compliance. Good-faith compliance errors would be subject to a “correction-first” supervisory approach, with enforcement reserved for situations involving actual borrower harm or repeated misconduct.
This represents a notable philosophical shift. For institutions accustomed to examination findings driven by technical deficiencies rather than substantive underwriting concerns, a change in supervisory posture would be welcome. That said, institutions should be cautious about adjusting their internal compliance programs in anticipation of changes that have not yet been formalized. Any revisions to supervisory guidance will need to work through existing interagency processes, and examination practices may vary during a transition period.
Capital, Liquidity, and the Federal Home Loan Banks
The order directs federal banking regulators and the FHFA to consider revisions to capital regulations, including tailoring risk weights for portfolio mortgages, mortgage servicing rights, and warehouse lines of credit to reflect the actual credit risk of the exposure. Additional provisions call for expanding access to longer-dated Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances tied to residential mortgage assets, creating targeted FHLB liquidity programs for entry-level housing and small residential builders, and potentially authorizing intermediate FHLB access to the Federal Reserve’s discount window. For banks that have faced capital constraints limiting their appetite for residential mortgage assets, these provisions — if implemented — could improve the economics of holding mortgage loans on balance sheets.
Appraisal Modernization and Digital Mortgage Initiatives
The order directs regulators to consider expanding the use of alternative valuation models, including desktop and hybrid appraisals and artificial intelligence-driven tools, and to simplify appraiser qualification requirements while reducing appraisal requirements for low-risk transactions. It also calls for federal agencies and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to expand acceptance of electronic signatures, electronic notes, and remote online notarization.
What This Means Going Forward
The scope of the executive order is broad, but its immediate legal effect is limited. The order directs agencies to “consider” reforms; it does not mandate specific outcomes. The provisions targeting Regulation Z and Regulation C will require notice-and-comment rulemaking that typically takes many months. Even if change is made, final rules addressing the more substantial provisions may not emerge until late 2026 or 2027.
Several developments, however, suggest that the regulatory environment may move faster than the rulemaking process alone would indicate. The order was issued alongside a companion executive order targeting regulatory barriers to housing construction, and it arrives as bipartisan housing legislation — the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — advances in Congress following Senate passage on March 12, 2026. Federal banking regulators have also signaled forthcoming capital rule proposals for mortgage lending.
For now, the existing rules remain fully in effect, and institutions should not modify their compliance programs based on the executive order alone. But the order provides a detailed roadmap of the administration’s regulatory priorities, and institutions that begin assessing the potential operational and competitive implications of these changes now will be better positioned when proposed rules are published. When those proposals do come, active engagement in the notice-and-comment process will be essential to shaping how these reforms are ultimately implemented.
