By the constitutional powers granted to me as President, I hereby issue the following order:
Section 1. Purpose.
The American dream of homeownership should be accessible to all citizens through reliable mortgage options that align with their creditworthiness. Unfortunately, over the past two decades, various legislative and regulatory shifts, particularly those stemming from the Dodd-Frank Act (Public Law 111-203) and subsequent rulemaking, have inflated compliance costs related to mortgage origination and servicing. These changes have distorted the mortgage market, leading to a notable retreat from mortgage lending by banks, notably community banks—those with assets under $30 billion. As a result, these regulatory burdens have adversely affected community banks, increased credit and liquidity risks outside the traditional banking framework, and diminished access to credit for many potential homeowners, including those in rural areas and low- to moderate-income households. My Administration is committed to alleviating these regulatory pressures to ensure that creditworthy borrowers can secure the capital needed to purchase homes.
It is the policy of the United States to enhance the accessibility and affordability of mortgage credit; customize regulations for community and smaller banks (those with assets less than $100 billion); reduce regulatory burdens on community banks to encourage their involvement in mortgage activities; stimulate innovation and consumer choice in the mortgage sector; modernize origination and closing standards to decrease lending costs; eliminate regulatory distortions in the mortgage market structure; ensure equitable capital and liquidity regulations across similar credit and liquidity risks; foster competition among various mortgage lenders to lower rates; and bolster liquidity in housing finance.
Sec. 2. Origination and Ability-to-Repay (ATR)/Qualified Mortgage (QM) Reform.
(a) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shall evaluate, as necessary and in accordance with legal provisions:
(i) Proposing amendments to Regulation Z that adjust ATR and QM requirements, including possibly establishing a wider QM safe harbor for portfolio loans, as well as revising the Truth in Lending Act, Public Law 90-321 (TILA), the 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 maintains consumer clarity and minimizes closing delays;
(iii) Exempting small-mortgage loans from QM caps on points and fees or, as appropriate, modifying these caps to enhance affordability;
(iv) Updating regulations to better align banks’ compliance with ATR and QM underwriting requirements by eliminating excessively burdensome elements;
(v) Modernizing the right to rescission in mortgage lending, for example, by facilitating secure electronic and digital processes;
(vi) Streamlining requirements for 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 Federal Reserve, the Director of the CFPB, the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board, the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Comptroller of the Currency shall evaluate, as necessary and in compliance with applicable law, revisions to supervisory guidance to ensure:
(i) Examiners assess mortgage lending based on the effectiveness of a lender’s policies regarding a consumer’s ability to repay and sound underwriting practices, rather than the current emphasis on procedural and technical compliance; and
(ii) Good-faith technical compliance errors are addressed with correction-first supervisory treatment, reserving enforcement for instances of borrower harm or repeated misconduct.
Sec. 3. Modernization of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data Collection and Disclosure.
(a) The CFPB shall consider, as appropriate and in accordance with applicable law, proposing amendments to Regulation C to raise the asset threshold for exemption from HMDA data collection and reporting for smaller banks, eliminate inquiries from HMDA’s scope, and ensure that disclosures protect privacy while reducing burdens, including the complex and costly software and training needed for reporting financial institutions.
Sec. 4. Capital and Liquidity Alignment.
(a) The Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the Chairperson of the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:
(i) Revising capital regulations to tailor risk weights for all banks, including community and smaller banks, regarding portfolio mortgages, servicing rights, and warehouse lines of credit, corresponding 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 connected to residential mortgage assets;
(iv) Establishing targeted FHLB liquidity programs for entry-level housing, owner-occupied loans, and small residential builders;
(v) Accelerating collateral boarding and valuation processes through standardized data and digital documentation; and
(vi) Refocusing the FHLBs’ Affordable Housing Program to enable quicker 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, allowing FHLBs intermediate access to the Federal Reserve’s discount window for member depository institutions under standardized collateral, operational, and risk-management protocols.
(c) Within 120 days of this order, the Director of the FHFA, in collaboration with the heads of 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 will identify recommendations for regulatory or legislative changes needed to address any regulatory or oversight gaps.
Sec. 5. Construction and Housing Supply.
(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 FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, revising supervisory guidance to exempt one- to four-family residential development and construction lending from commercial real estate concentration guidance, ensuring that supervisory expectations encourage 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 the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Director of the FHFA shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:
(i) Modernizing appraisal regulations and guidance to promote the use of alternative valuation models, desktop and hybrid appraisals, and artificial 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, while establishing clear appraisal timelines.
(b) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:
(i) Aligning appraisal standards between the Federal Housing Administration and VA Home Loan Program when risk is comparable;
(ii) Clarifying the distinction in appraisal inspections between safety and habitability concerns versus cosmetic issues that necessitate pre-closing repairs; and
(iii) Expanding flexibility for post-closing repairs.
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, applications, closing documents, and similar items;
(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 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 well-performing, prudently underwritten portfolio loans do not unduly emphasize 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 FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, establishing a policy against enforcement actions for violations of consumer financial laws that:
(i) Discourage imposing civil monetary penalties, except in cases where violations are willful, knowing, or reckless;
(ii) Take into account good corporate conduct, including a bank’s rectification of good-faith technical compliance errors; and
(iii) Provide institutions with a reasonable opportunity for self-identification and remediation of compliance issues.
Sec. 10. Duplicative or Unnecessary Licensing Requirements.
The Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the CFPB, the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the Chairperson of the FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the elimination of duplicative or unnecessary licensing or registration requirements for mortgage loan officers from any smaller bank.
Sec. 11. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall be interpreted to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) The authority granted by law to any executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) The functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget related to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order will be implemented in accordance with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order does not intend to, and will not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, that any party can enforce against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other individual.
(d) The costs incurred for the publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of the Treasury.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 13, 2026.
