On July 6, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its latest regulatory agenda, providing a roadmap of the regulatory activity that is to come and shedding light on the current administration’s priorities. Mortgage-related items dominate the agenda, driven in large part by Executive Order 14393, titled “Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit,” which generally directs the CFPB and other regulators to reduce compliance costs for mortgage origination and servicing. All told, the current regulatory agenda suggests that mortgages continue to be a priority for the CFPB, and we should expect numerous mortgage-related rulemakings in the near future.
The agenda reflects activity that the CFPB anticipates taking between January 2026 and November 2026, with certain items that are contemplated beyond that timeline published separately as long-term actions. The preamble to the CFPB’s agenda suggests that it was current as of January 13, 2026, and so subsequent events, such as the pending nomination of Brian Johnson to serve as the director of the CFPB, may have impacted when certain actions are ultimately taken. Therefore, the timelines in the agenda should be taken lightly and only as approximations.
The CFPB’s 2026 regulatory agenda confirms several important trends. First, when it comes to mortgages, the organizing principle for the CFPB appears to be reducing compliance costs and expanding access to credit. Second, the CFPB is simultaneously working at multiple stages of the rulemaking process. A final rule on mortgage servicing may arrive as early as August 2026, while ability-to-repay (ATR) requirements and qualified mortgage (QM) definitions are at the pre-rule stage and loan originator compensation (LO comp) is a long-term action. This means the regulatory landscape will continue evolving over the next 12 to 24 months, and institutions should prepare for changes arriving in waves rather than all at once. Finally, the CFPB appears to be concentrating resources on mortgage deregulation and reconsideration of prior rules rather than pursuing new consumer protection initiatives.
Those in the mortgage industry with interests in mortgage servicing, ATR/QM, and LO comp should especially monitor future developments, as it appears there will be many, and should engage in comment processes as they arise to help influence the various changes that are being contemplated.
1. Streamlining Mortgage Servicing (Regulation X): Final Rule Expected August 2026
The most significant mortgage item on the agenda is the anticipated final rule amending loss mitigation procedures under Regulation X. The CFPB originally proposed this rule in July 2024 under the title “Streamlining Mortgage Servicing for Borrowers Experiencing Payment Difficulties.” Among other things, the proposed rule would have removed the “complete application” framework and corresponding anti-evasion prohibition that collectively have long been a source of operational complexity for mortgage servicers.
EO 14393 directs the CFPB to simplify loss mitigation requirements, and finalizing this rule is likely a direct response to that instruction. However, there are many open questions surrounding this rulemaking, including whether the final rule will track closely to the 2024 proposal or be substantially revised to reflect comments and criticisms that were submitted in response. The rulemaking agenda says that the CFPB anticipates releasing a final rule in August 2026, so we should have answers to those questions very soon.
2. COVID-19 Mortgage Protections Rescission (Regulation X): Final Rule Expected November 2026
On May 16, 2025, the CFPB issued an interim final rule rescinding the 2021 COVID RESPA Rule, effective July 15, 2025. The CFPB now anticipates finalizing the rescission of its COVID-19 mortgage protections under Regulation X by November 2026. That rule implemented temporary procedural safeguards related to mortgage foreclosure and temporary amendments to early intervention and loss mitigation procedures. The finalization will formalize what is already in effect, providing regulatory certainty and eliminating pandemic-era protections that have already been permanently retired.
3. Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Review: Pre-Rule Activity Expected August 2026
In a notable development, the CFPB has upgraded its review of ATR requirements and QM definitions from a long-term action item on the Spring 2025 agenda to an active pre-rule item with anticipated activity in August 2026. The CFPB is evaluating whether further adjustments to ATR requirements and QM definitions are warranted following the expiration of the Temporary GSE QM loan definition in October 2022 and the General QM Final Rule issued in December 2020.
This elevation to the pre-rule stage is likely another direct response to EO 14393, which directs the CFPB to review its ATR/QM framework. While pre-rule activity, such as a request for information or an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, does not commit the CFPB to any particular outcome, the upgrade signals that substantive changes to the ATR/QM framework may be on the horizon. Lenders, particularly those that rely on the QM safe harbor, should monitor this item closely.
4. Contingency Calculations for Average Prime Offer Rate: Proposed Rule Expected July 2026
The CFPB is also considering a proposed rule to authorize the use of contingency calculations for determining average prime offer rate (APOR) values when the CFPB does not publish its weekly APOR tables. APOR values are critical because they determine whether a mortgage is a “higher-priced mortgage loan” subject to additional regulatory requirements under Regulation Z. This is a new item on the CFPB regulatory agenda and is anticipated by the end of July 2026.
A mechanism for contingency calculations would address operational gaps and provide lenders with continued certainty in the event of publication disruptions, which was a concern in 2025 when there were threats that the CFPB was effectively being shut down. This rulemaking would appear to address what lenders would do if, for whatever reason, the CFPB were not able to publish weekly APOR tables.
5. Loan Originator Compensation Requirements Under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z): Long Term Action
Slated as a long-term action, the CFPB anticipates reviewing its 2013 Loan Originator Compensation Final Rule and will weigh “the costs and benefits of the current rule’s limiting effects on price competition.” More specifically, the CFPB believes that the “rule may limit some practices that could result in lower costs and increased market competition,” and will be “considering whether changes to the regulation could encourage competition in the mortgage origination market.”
6. Rescission of Discretionary Mortgage Rules: Long Term Actions
Carried forward from the Spring 2025 agenda, the CFPB continues to consider rescinding all or parts of the “discretionary” provisions of its LO comp requirements under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z), and the mortgage servicing rules in Regulation X and Regulation Z. These are all interesting items, as they seem somewhat contradictory to the substantive rulemakings related to these same existing regulations. For example, the CFPB appears ready to release a final rule related to mortgage servicing and loss mitigation procedures in Regulation X, which are discretionary provisions of the law, at the same time that it is contemplating rescinding provisions of Regulation X that are discretionary. In that regard, perhaps it is notable that these were identified as being in the pre-rule stage in the Spring 2025 agenda and now find themselves as long-term actions in the 2026 agenda. This may signal that the idea of rescinding large portions of the existing regulatory framework is losing favor.
7. Non-Mortgage Items of Note
- UDAAP Clarifications (Sections 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act). Pre-rule activity is anticipated in November 2026. The CFPB may seek to narrow or redefine the scope of its UDAAP authority, consistent with the deregulatory posture reflected elsewhere on the agenda.
- Personal Financial Data Rights (Section 1033 Rule). Following an advance notice of proposed rulemaking issued in August 2025, the CFPB plans to issue a proposed rule in July 2026 reconsidering elements of its open banking rule. This is significant for banks and fintechs navigating data-sharing obligations.
- Procedures for Guidance Documents. A notice of proposed rulemaking is anticipated in September 2026 to “ensure that [the CFPB] issues guidance documents through fair and responsible procedures.” This is in response to Executive Order 13891, Promoting the Rules of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents.