Executive Order No. 14393. Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit

• Citation: 91 FR 13203
• Executive Order No.: 14393
• Published date: 18 March 2026
• Date: 13 March 2026
• FR Document: 2026-05384
• Pages: 13203-13206
• Issuer: Executive Office of the President
• Section: Presidential Documents

Presidential Documents

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Executive Order 14393 of March 13, 2026

Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the

laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. Every American seeking to buy a home should have

access to a mortgage from a reliable lender, at a rate commensurate with

his or her creditworthiness. Over the past two decades, however, statutory

and regulatory changes—including rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act,

Public Law 111–203, and subsequent rulemakings—have increased the com-

pliance costs of mortgage origination and servicing and distorted the structure

of the mortgage market. These burdens have contributed to a significant

decline in bank participation in mortgage lending. Community banks, gen-

erally institutions with fewer than $30 billion in assets, have been especially

affected. The regulatory and rule changes have undermined community

banks’ businesses, concentrated credit and liquidity risk outside the banking

system, and resulted in reduced access to credit for some creditworthy

borrowers, including rural households and low- and moderate-income house-

holds. My Administration will reduce these regulatory burdens to ensure

that these creditworthy borrowers can access the capital required to purchase

a home.

It is the policy of the United States to improve the availability and afford-

ability of mortgage credit; tailor rules for community banks and ‘‘smaller

banks’’ (banks with assets fewer than $100 billion); reduce the regulatory

burden on community banks and otherwise facilitate community bank en-

gagement in mortgage activity; foster innovation, growth, and consumer

choice in the mortgage market; modernize origination and closing standards

to reduce lending costs; remove regulatory distortions to the structure of

the mortgage market and to ensure capital and liquidity frameworks subject

similar credit and liquidity risks to similar regulation across the system;

promote competition among mortgage lenders of all charter types to drive

down mortgage rates; and strengthen housing-finance liquidity.

Sec. 2. Origination and Ability-to-Repay (ATR)/Qualified Mortgage (QM) Re-

form. (a) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shall consider,

as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:

(i) proposing amendments to Regulation Z that tailor the following require-

ments for smaller banks: ATR and QM requirements (including potentially

a broader QM safe harbor for portfolio loans) and the requirements of

the Truth in Lending Act, Public Law 90–321 (TILA), Real Estate Settlement

Procedure Act, Public Law 93–533 (RESPA), and TILA–RESPA Integrated

Disclosure (TRID) rules;

(ii) replacing TRID timing rules with a materiality-based standard that

preserves consumer clarity and reduces closing delays;

(iii) exempting small-mortgage loans from caps on QM points and fees

or, as appropriate, modifying such caps to support affordability;

(iv) updating regulations regarding banks’ reasonable compliance with

ATR and QM underwriting requirements by removing unnecessarily bur-

densome elements;

(v) modernizing the right to rescission for mortgage lending, for example,

by enabling increased secure electronic and digital forms and processes;

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(vi) streamlining the requirements applicable to rate-and-term refinancing

under Regulation X mortgage servicing rules; and

(vii) exempting rate-and-term refinancing (including cash-out refinancing)

from rescission rights.

(b) The Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Board of Governors of

the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Director of the CFPB,

the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board,

the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation (FDIC), and the Comptroller of the Currency shall consider,

as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, revising supervisory guid-

ance to ensure that:

(i) examiners evaluate mortgage lending based on the effectiveness of

the lender’s policies regarding a consumer’s ability to repay and prudent

underwriting, rather than the existing focus on process and technical

compliance; and

(ii) good-faith, technical compliance errors are subject to correction-first

supervisory treatment, with enforcement reserved for borrower harm or

repeated misconduct.

Sec. 3. Modernization of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data Collec-

tion and Disclosure. (a) The CFPB shall consider, as appropriate and con-

sistent with applicable law, proposing amendments to Regulation C to raise

the asset threshold for exemption from HMDA data collection and reporting

requirements for smaller banks, to exclude inquiries from the scope of HMDA,

and to ensure that disclosures protect privacy and reduce burdens, including

insufficiently tailored, expensive, and complex software and training needed

for reporting financial institutions.

Sec. 4. Capital and Liquidity Alignment. (a) The Vice Chairman for Super-

vision of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the Chair-

person of the Board of Directors of the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency,

and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shall con-

sider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:

(i) revising capital regulations, consistent with appropriate risk-manage-

ment requirements, to tailor risk weights for all banks, including commu-

nity banks and other smaller banks, for portfolio mortgages, servicing

rights, and warehouse lines of credit to the material credit risk of the

exposure;

(ii) modernizing collateral valuation and transfer systems between the

Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs);

(iii) expanding access to longer-dated FHLB advances tied to residential

mortgage assets;

(iv) creating targeted FHLB liquidity programs for entry-level housing,

owner-occupied purchase loans, and small residential builders;

(v) accelerating collateral boarding and valuation processes through stand-

ardized data and digital documentation; and

(vi) refocusing the FHLBs’ Affordable Housing Program on faster-cycle

execution and greater financial leverage for small-scale and owner-occupied

housing projects.

(b) The Director of the FHFA and the Vice Chairman for Supervision

of the Federal Reserve shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with

applicable law, authorizing FHLBs’ intermediate access to the Federal Re-

serve’s discount window for FHLBs’ member depository institutions under

standardized collateral, operational, and risk-management protocols.

(c) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Director of the FHFA,

in consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and

agencies, shall submit a report to the Assistant to the President for Economic

Policy and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on the

efficiency of national housing finance markets. The report shall identify

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recommendations for regulatory or legislative changes necessary to address

any regulatory or oversight gaps.

Sec. 5. Construction and Housing Supply. (a) The Vice Chairman for Super-

vision of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the CFPB, the Chairman of

the NCUA Board, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the FDIC,

and the Comptroller of the Currency, shall consider, as appropriate and

consistent with applicable law, revising supervisory guidance both to exclude

one-to four-family residential development and construction lending from

commercial real estate concentration guidance and to ensure supervisory

expectations support responsible construction lending by community banks.

Sec. 6. Appraisal Modernization. (a) The Vice Chairman for Supervision

of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the CFPB, the Chairman of the

NCUA Board, the Chairperson of Board of Directors of the FDIC, the Comp-

troller of the Currency, and the Director of the FHFA shall consider, as

appropriate and consistent with applicable law and their statutory authorities:

(i) modernizing appraisal regulations and guidance to expand the use

of alternative valuation models, desktop and hybrid appraisals, and artifi-

cial intelligence valuation tools;

(ii) simplifying appraiser qualification requirements; and

(iii) reducing appraisal requirements for low-risk transactions, including

low loan-to-value refinancing and small-balance loans; and setting clear

appraisal timelines.

(b) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall consider, as appropriate and con-

sistent with applicable law:

(i) aligning appraisal standards between the Federal Housing Administra-

tion and VA Home Loan Program where risk is comparable;

(ii) clarifying the distinction in an appraisal inspection between safety

and habitability concerns that necessitate pre-closing repairs versus cos-

metic concerns; and

(iii) expanding post-closing repair flexibility.

Sec. 7. Digital Mortgage Modernization. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture,

the Secretary of HUD, the Secretary of VA, and the Director of the FHFA

shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:

(i) eliminating unnecessary wet-signature requirements for disclosures, ap-

plications, closing documents, and similar documents;

(ii) standardizing acceptance of electronic signatures, e-notes, and remote

online notarization; and

(iii) promoting digital mortgage standards.

Sec. 8. Servicing and Supervisory Certainty. (a) The Secretary of HUD, the

Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the

CFPB, the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the Chairperson of the Board

of Directors of the FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall consider,

as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:

(i) aligning supervisory expectations to support portfolio mortgage servicing

as a core community banking function; extending cure-first standards to

good-faith servicing errors; simplifying loss mitigation requirements; and

issuing a proposed rule providing exemptions from complex mortgage

services for smaller banks; and

(ii) ensuring that supervisory evaluations of performing, prudently under-

written portfolio loans do not focus on technical defects or rely on evolving

supervisory interpretations.

Sec. 9. Enforcement. (a) The Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal

Reserve, the Director of the CFPB, the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the

Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the FDIC, and the Comptroller

of the Currency shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable

law, promulgating a policy against enforcement actions for violations of

consumer financial laws that:

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(i) discourages imposing civil monetary penalties, except where the under-

lying violations are willful, knowing, or reckless;

(ii) considers good corporate conduct, including a bank’s correction of

good-faith, technical compliance errors; and

(iii) allows institutions a reasonable opportunity for self-identification and

remediation of appropriate compliance matters.

Sec. 10. Duplicative or Unnecessary Licensing Requirements. The Vice Chair-

man for Supervision of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the CFPB,

the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors

of the FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall consider, as appro-

priate and consistent with applicable law, eliminating duplicative or unneces-

sary requirements regarding licensing or registration for mortgage loan officers

of any smaller bank.

Sec. 11. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed

to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency,

or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and

subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,

employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department

of the Treasury.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

March 13, 2026.

[FR Doc. 2026–05384

Filed 3–17–26; 11:15 am]

Billing code 4810–25–P

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