in effect
Executive Order 14393, signed March 13, 2026, directs multiple federal financial regulators to consider reducing rules and compliance costs that the order says have made it harder for banks — especially smaller community banks — to offer mortgages. It does not itself change any regulation; it instructs agencies to study and propose changes through their normal rulemaking processes.
Regulators are directed to consider raising the asset threshold that exempts smaller banks from certain mortgage-disclosure reporting rules, and to look at simplifying the ability-to-repay and qualified-mortgage underwriting requirements that govern whether a lender can be sued if a borrower defaults. The order asks agencies to shift enforcement toward a “correct-first” model, where banks that make good-faith technical errors get a chance to fix them before facing civil penalties. Appraisal rules would be reconsidered to allow more use of desktop appraisals, hybrid appraisals, and AI-based valuation tools, and wet-ink signature requirements for mortgage documents would be examined for replacement with electronic signatures and remote notarization. Within 120 days the Federal Housing Finance Agency must submit a report to the White House identifying gaps in housing finance regulation and recommending fixes.
Community banks and other smaller banks (defined in the order as institutions with under $100 billion in assets) are the primary targets for relief, as the order specifically seeks to tailor rules to their scale. Home buyers — particularly rural households and low- and moderate-income borrowers — are the stated beneficiaries if reduced lender costs translate into broader credit availability. Mortgage loan officers at smaller banks could also see licensing and registration requirements simplified or consolidated.