Modern Ways to Reduce Mortgage Costs in 2026

Modernization of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data Collection and Disclosure. (a) The CFPB shall consider, as appropriate and constant with appropriate law, proposing changes to Guideline C to raise the property limit for exemption from HMDA information collection and reporting requirements for smaller sized banks, to leave out queries from the scope of HMDA, and to ensure that disclosures safeguard personal privacy and minimize problems, consisting of insufficiently tailored, expensive, and complex software and training required for reporting monetary institutions.

apfsc.org

4. Capital and Liquidity Positioning. (a) The Vice Chairman for Guidance of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the NCUA Board, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Director of the Federal Housing Financing Company (FHFA) shall consider, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law: (i) modifying capital regulations, consistent with appropriate risk-management requirements, to customize threat weights for all banks, consisting of neighborhood banks and other smaller banks, for portfolio home mortgages, maintenance rights, and warehouse credit lines to the product credit risk of the exposure; (ii) modernizing security evaluation and transfer systems in between the Federal Reserve and Federal Mortgage Banks (FHLBs); (iii) broadening access to longerdated FHLB advances connected to property home mortgage assets; (iv) developing targeted FHLB liquidity programs for entrylevel real estate, owneroccupied purchase loans, and small domestic builders; (v) speeding up security boarding and assessment procedures through standardized information and digital documents; and (vi) refocusing the FHLBs' Cost Effective Real estate Program on faster-cycle execution and greater financial take advantage of for small and owner-occupied real estate projects.

(c) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Director of the FHFA, in assessment with the heads of other appropriate executive departments and firms, will send a report to the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Director of the Workplace of Management and Budget plan on the performance of nationwide housing financing markets.

Comparing Assistance vs Foreclosure Prevention

Sec. 5. Construction and Real Estate Supply. (a) The Vice Chairman for Guidance 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 proper and consistent with applicable law, revising supervisory guidance both to exclude one-to four-family property development and building financing from business property concentration assistance and to guarantee supervisory expectations support accountable construction financing by community banks.

apfsc.org

6. Appraisal Modernization. (a) The Vice Chairman for Guidance 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 Comptroller of the Currency, and the Director of the FHFA will consider, as proper and consistent with relevant law and their statutory authorities: (i) updating appraisal policies and assistance to broaden making use of alternative appraisal models, desktop and hybrid appraisals, and artificial intelligence evaluation tools; (ii) simplifying appraiser credentials requirements; and (iii) reducing appraisal requirements for low-risk deals, consisting of low loan-to-value refinancing and smallbalance loans; and setting clear appraisal timelines.

Sec. 7. Digital Home 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 constant with relevant law: (i) getting rid of unneeded wetsignature requirements for disclosures, applications, closing documents, and similar documents; (ii) standardizing acceptance of electronic signatures, e-notes, and remote online notarization; and (iii) promoting digital mortgage standards.

8. Maintenance 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 will consider, as proper and consistent with appropriate law: (i) lining up supervisory expectations to support portfolio home loan servicing as a core neighborhood banking function; extending curefirst standards to goodfaith servicing mistakes; simplifying loss mitigation requirements; and releasing a proposed rule offering exemptions from complicated home mortgage services for smaller sized banks; and (ii) making sure that supervisory assessments of performing, wisely underwritten portfolio loans do not concentrate on technical flaws or depend on progressing supervisory analyses.

9. Enforcement. (a) The Vice Chairman for Guidance 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 suitable and consistent with suitable law, promulgating a policy against enforcement actions for offenses of customer financial laws that: (i) dissuades imposing civil financial charges, except where the underlying violations are willful, understanding, or negligent; (ii) considers excellent business conduct, including a bank's correction of good-faith, technical compliance errors; and (iii) enables organizations a reasonable chance for self-identification and remediation of suitable compliance matters.