Interagency Rescission of the Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B

Issuing agencies

Abstract

FDIC, NCUA, OCC, CFPB, HUD, DOJ, and FHFA (collectively, the agencies) are issuing this notice to inform the public of the rescission of the "Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B" (Interagency Statement), dated February 22, 2022. The agencies are rescinding the Interagency Statement to make clear that (1) creditors may not discriminate against borrowers based on prohibited characteristics and (2) creditors should not rely upon the Interagency Statement or other related issuances going forward.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54875-54877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17307]


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FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[Docket No. FR-6606-N-01]


Interagency Rescission of the Interagency Statement on Special 
Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and 
Regulation B

AGENCY: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National 
Credit

[[Page 54876]]

Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or 
Bureau), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the 
Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency 
(FHFA)

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: FDIC, NCUA, OCC, CFPB, HUD, DOJ, and FHFA (collectively, the 
agencies) are issuing this notice to inform the public of the 
rescission of the ``Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit 
Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B'' 
(Interagency Statement), dated February 22, 2022. The agencies are 
rescinding the Interagency Statement to make clear that (1) creditors 
may not discriminate against borrowers based on prohibited 
characteristics and (2) creditors should not rely upon the Interagency 
Statement or other related issuances going forward.

DATES: Effective date: August 25, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    FDIC: Luke H. Brown, Associate Director, Supervision Policy Branch, 
Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection, Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Room F-7058, Washington DC 
20429. Telephone number (202) 898-3842.
    NCUA: Frank Kressman, General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, 
National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22314-3428. Telephone number (703) 518-6540.
    OCC: Melissa Love, Deputy Comptroller, Compliance and Operational 
Risk, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20219. (202) 649-5420. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, 
or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 
telecommunications relay services.
    CFPB: Dave Gettler, Paralegal Specialist, Office of Regulations, 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, 
DC 20024-2101. Telephone number (202) 435-7700.
    HUD: Trey Tagert, Senior Advisor, Office of Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410. Telephone number (202) 402-4252 (This 
is not a toll-free number.). Individuals who are deaf or hard of 
hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication 
disabilities, have the option of making an accessible telephone call. 
For more information, please visit: <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs">https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs</a>.
    DOJ: Eric Sell, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights 
Division, U.S. Department of Justice, at (202) 307-0663 (voice or TTY). 
This is not a toll-free number. Information may also be obtained from 
the Department's toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 
(voice) or 1-833-610-1264 (TTY). You may obtain copies of this rule in 
an alternative format by calling the ADA Information Line at (800) 514-
0301 (voice) or 1-833-610-1264 (TTY). This rule is also available on 
<a href="http://www.ada.gov">www.ada.gov</a>.
    FHFA: Aaron Kofsky, Senior Advisor to the Director, Division of 
Housing Mission and Goals, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 Seventh 
Street SW, Washington, DC 200219. Telephone number (202) 402-4252 (This 
is not a toll-free number.) Individuals who are deaf or hard of 
hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication 
disabilities, have the option of making an accessible telephone call. 
For more information, please visit: <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs">https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs</a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with Executive Order 14192, 
``Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,'' \1\ and Executive Order 
14219, ``Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's 
`Department of Government Efficiency' Deregulatory Initiative,'' \2\ 
agencies are required to review their sub-regulatory guidance and 
policy statements to enhance the effectiveness of these documents and 
promote principles underlying the rule of law.
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    \1\ 90 FR 9065 (January 31, 2025).
    \2\ 90 FR 10583 (February 19, 2025).
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    Furthermore, Executive Order 14151, ``Ending Radical and Wasteful 
Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,'' \3\ Executive Order 14173, 
``Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based 
Opportunity,'' \4\ and Executive Order 14281, ``Restoring Equality of 
Opportunity and Meritocracy,'' \5\ establish principles of 
nondiscrimination for agencies to follow. Accordingly, agencies are 
revisiting prior guidance that may have sanctioned or encouraged 
participation in discriminatory programs and activities.
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    \3\ 90 FR 8339 (January 20, 2025).
    \4\ 90 FR 8633 (January 21, 2025).
    \5\ 90 FR 17537 (April 23, 2025).
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I. Background

    The 2022 Interagency Statement encouraged creditors to offer 
special purpose credit programs that ``meet the credit needs of 
specified classes of persons'' and gave assurances to participants that 
were uncertain about the permissibility of such credit programs. 
However, the Interagency Statement referenced a provision of Regulation 
B, Equal Credit Opportunity Act's (ECOA) implementing regulation, that 
has since been amended.\6\ The earlier version of Regulation B 
permitted creditors to implement lending programs based on the race, 
color, national origin, or sex of the applicant under certain 
circumstances, and the Interagency Statement and other related guidance 
referenced that earlier version of the provision. Similarly, the 
assurance given with respect to conformity with the Fair Housing Act 
(FHA) was based on an interpretation promulgated under HUD guidance 
that is no longer in effect. These prior interpretations cannot be 
reconciled with the statutory text of ECOA and the FHA, which expressly 
prohibit discrimination against individuals based on prohibited 
characteristics.\7\ Furthermore, the Supreme Court has been consistent 
that race-based policies are subject to higher scrutiny and that a 
general desire to remedy societal discrimination does not satisfy such 
threshold.\8\ The enhanced standards and eligibility criteria in the 
revised Regulation B reflect these nondiscrimination principles and are 
consistent with the statutory text of ECOA.\9\
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    \6\ 91 FR 21620 (April 22, 2026).
    \7\ See 15 U.S.C. 1691(a) and 42 U.S.C. 3605, respectively; see 
also 91 FR at 21649-58. While overlapping, the prohibited 
characteristics and covered persons under ECOA are not identical to 
those in FHA.
    \8\ Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of 
Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).
    \9\ 91 FR 21620 (April 22, 2026).
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    The agencies have already taken a number of actions to withdraw or 
revise their own guidance, consistent with those nondiscrimination 
principles, as listed below:
    <bullet> ``FHEO Statement on the Fair Housing Act and Special 
Purpose Credit Programs'' issued by HUD on December 7, 2021, and 
withdrawn as of September 17, 2025;
    <bullet> ``Office of General Counsel Guidance on the Fair Housing 
Act's Treatment of Certain Special Purpose Credit Programs That are 
Designed and Implemented in Compliance with the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act and Regulation B'' issued by HUD on

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December 6, 2021, and withdrawn as of September 25, 2025; and
    <bullet> Advisory Opinion entitled ``Equal Credit Opportunity 
(Regulation B); Special Purpose Credit Programs'' issued by CFPB on 
December 21, 2020, and withdrawn as of June 17, 2026.

II. Rescission

    It is the shared view of the agencies that rescission of the 
Interagency Statement is necessary to ensure that creditors do not rely 
on it to engage in discriminatory activities that are inconsistent with 
ECOA and Regulation B and, to the extent applicable, the FHA.
    For the reasons stated in this notice, the agencies rescind the 
guidance provided in the Interagency Statement, effective immediately. 
All special purpose credit programs must comply with ECOA, and its 
implementing regulation, Regulation B, and the FHA. Federal law does 
not authorize any generalized remedial ``equity'' initiatives absent 
specific cases of unlawful discrimination, and creditors should not 
rely upon previous guidance which may have suggested otherwise.

Benjamin K. Olson,
Director, Division of Depositor & Consumer Protection, Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation.
Frank Kressman,
General Counsel, National Credit Union Administration.
Melissa Love,
Deputy Comptroller, Compliance and Operational Risk, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency.
Mark Paoletta,
Chief Legal Officer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Craig Trainor,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Harmeet K. Dhillon,
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of 
Justice.
Clinton Jones,
General Counsel, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2026-17307 Filed 8-24-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P


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