State Relations Committee Update: Policy Highlights

MBA Blasts Credit Reporting Price Hikes; Calls for Ending Tri-merge Requirement: Last week, MBA began receiving member reports regarding 2026 pricing for Tri-merge credit reporting products, with most members reporting yet another round of price hikes, on the order of 35-40%. MBA's President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, released a statement on these price increases: “Once again, the national credit bureaus are abusing their government-granted oligopoly by gouging consumers – a predictable outcome in a flawed, outdated, and anticompetitive system where lenders are required to buy specific, increasingly-expensive credit reporting data from each of the three credit bureaus. MBA has led the call to fix this broken model and shined a light on the role that regulations and the government play in these steep, unjustified price hikes that ultimately hurt housing affordability. We are continuing to push for more transparency and fairness in this process. Today’s news only strengthens our call to move away from the tri-merge credit report structure. Single-file reports are used safely in nearly every other consumer finance market, and extending them into the mortgage market would provide price relief for American homebuyers by injecting real competition, lowering closing costs, and streamlining the mortgage process, all without compromising sound risk management. MBA once again urges lawmakers and federal housing regulators, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, to end the government’s involvement in driving up these consumer credit transaction costs.” For more reaction, see Bob Broeksmit's LinkedIn post.

Senate Banking Committee Advances Nominees for Ginnie Mae, FHA, and FDIC: Last Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the nominations of Joseph Gormley to be President of Ginnie Mae, Francis Cassidy to be Assistant Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner, and Travis Hill to be Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Gormley and Hill were reported on party-line 13-11 votes, while the vote for Cassidy was 14-10, with Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) joining all Banking Committee Republicans in favor of advancing the nomination to the full Senate floor. A full summary of the hearing can be found here. Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) emphasized that advancing the nominees to confirmation is essential for economic stability and housing access. Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke exclusively in opposition to Hill’s nomination, noting that he failed to address the agency's toxic workplace culture and actively blocked the release of independent monitoring reports to Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and his staff are expected to work to schedule confirmation votes for all three nominees by the full Senate sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Bipartisan House Bill Introduced to Modernize FHA Multifamily Loan Limits: Last Tuesday, Representatives Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced H.R. 6132, the Housing Affordability Act, a bipartisan House companion to Senate legislation aimed at updating outdated Federal Housing Administration (FHA) multifamily loan limits. The bill would amend the National Housing Act to align loan limit calculations with real construction costs, unlocking new opportunities for multifamily development in high-cost and underserved markets. MBA has long called for reforms to FHA multifamily programs to better reflect the realities of today’s housing and construction environment. The statutory loan limits have not been meaningfully updated in more than two decades, creating a structural barrier to financing critically needed workforce and affordable rental housing. A required study of FHA’s multifamily loan limits, including the appropriateness of those limits’ accompanying inflation index/measure, was included in the Senate Banking Committee’s ROAD to Housing Act (which is included within the Senate’s version of a Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)). The ROAD proposal’s related provision also grants HUD/FHA rulemaking authority to adjust the limits upward to better match individual housing market costs and conditions. By shifting from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to a more accurate price deflator tied to multifamily residential construction, the DelaCruz /Torres bill, if enacted, would help ensure that FHA can serve as a viable financing source in a broader range of markets. MBA’s SVP of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer was quoted in the House bill announcement: “MBA has long called for updated reforms to the Federal Housing Administration’s multifamily insurance programs. We support the introduction of the Housing Affordability Act and commend Representatives Monica De La Cruz and Ritchie Torres for leading the charge on these long-overdue updates. This important legislation would help to remove unintentional and outdated regulatory barriers that constrain and delay workforce housing development across the country.” MBA will continue to advocate for bipartisan support and swift consideration of the delaCruz/Torres bill, while continuing to closely monitor House and Senate discussions regarding the Senate’s NDAA/ROAD to Housing Act study language.

House Financial Services Committee Holds Hearing on Future of Deposit Insurance: Last Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing titled, "The Future of Deposit Insurance: Exploring the Coverage, Costs, and Depositor Confidence." Several Republicans and Democrats on the committee indicated support for targeted reforms in order to protect community banks and business payment accounts. Find the full summary here and watch the hearing here. While some of the changes could enhance the stability of bank deposit flows, particularly for community banks, they would come at a cost in terms of higher deposit insurance premiums. The scope of any expanded coverage, and the associated premium hikes, could have differential impacts on small versus large institutions, requiring Congress to carefully balance these interests for any legislation to pass. MBA will continue to closely monitor developments (in both the House and Senate) regarding potential deposit insurance reforms.

MBA Submits Coalition Letter to FCC Regarding the Efficacy of STIR/SHAKEN Call ID Authentication: Last Tuesday, MBA and other trades sent a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) regarding STIR/SHAKEN call authentication improvements. MBA’s and the group’s comments focus on the importance of a trustworthy phone system and the FCC’s efforts to combat illegal robocalls. Unfortunately, STIR/SHAKEN has not significantly reduced fraudulent calls. Despite years of implementation, spoofed calls remain a major driver of consumer fraud, with losses exceeding $12.5 billion in 2024 and robocall volumes reaching nearly 5 billion in April 2025. The signed groups believe that the current evaluation standard, which is focused on technical authentication, should also measure actual reductions in illegal robocalls, where progress has been minimal. The letter recommends several improvements to strengthen STIR/SHAKEN framework: First, the Commission should set a firm deadline for transitioning all providers from legacy TDM networks to IP-based networks, as STIR/SHAKEN only works over IP; Second, enforcement against improper attestations must be enhanced, including penalties and stricter entry requirements for the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD); and, Third, clearer guidance on Know-Your-Customer (KYC) standards is needed to ensure providers exercise due diligence before allowing traffic on their networks. These steps are critical to restoring trust and achieving the TRACED Act's goals. MBA continues to support the FCC’s efforts to eliminate illegal automated calls. Banks, credit unions, and other financial services providers – and their customers – are negatively impacted by bad actors that increasingly place calls that impersonate legitimate companies with intent to defraud. These bad actors at times illegally “spoof” phone numbers belonging to our members by causing the call recipient’s caller ID to display the name of a legitimate company instead of the name of the actual caller, who is seeking to defraud the recipient. Without the reforms outlined in the letter, the STIR/SHAKEN framework will remain inadequate to curb illegal robocalls and protect consumers. MBA will continue to monitor any future improvements to the FCC’s STIR/SHAKEN framework and provide any relevant updates. 

USDA Issues Guidance on PITI Ratio Application Following Shutdown: Last Friday, the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) released guidance clarifying that, due to the lapse in appropriations during the government shutdown, any application with a final Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) submission before November 4 will continue to be reviewed under the prior 34 percent maximum PITI ratio, rather than the newly implemented 29 percent standard announced during the shutdown. USDA also noted that it is actively working through a backlog of requests for Conditional Commitments and Loan Guarantees. Lenders are reminded that loans must not be closed before receiving an official Conditional Commitment, as doing so will disqualify the loan from a Guarantee and may affect lender participation status. This clarification prevents borrowers with pre–November 4 submissions from being disadvantaged by the shutdown and saves lenders from having to rework loans that would no longer meet the new 29 percent PITI limit. MBA will follow up with the USDA team to advocate for reinstating the 34 percent PITI ratio, given its importance in preserving access to credit for rural borrowers. Reducing the ratio to 29 percent runs counter to the Trump administration’s stated goal of removing barriers to homeownership.

Congress and White House Reach Agreement to Fund Government Through January Next Year: As widely reported, the full Senate on Monday, November 10, passed a modified version of a Continuing Resolution (CR) designed to keep the federal government funded through January 30 next year by a final vote of 60 to 40. That CR was paired with a so-called “minibus” of three appropriations bills designed to also fund Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 military construction (MilCon) projects and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operations, FY26 operations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and FY26 resources for the operations of the U.S. House and Senate (Legislative Branch). The House, in turn, passed that same measure (Senate Amendment to H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026) Wednesday, November 12, by a vote of 222 to 209, following several hours of debate. This action came after fourteen unsuccessful attempts by the Senate to advance a prior “clean” stop-gap House bill that would have funded the government through November 21, 2025. President Donald Trump immediately signed the funding measure into law that evening. In addition to temporarily ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, H.R. 5371 (as amended) would also reverse more than 4,000 federal layoffs (and prevent any future layoffs through January). Importantly for our industry, the package would also reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through January 30, 2026. It also contains a narrow set of technical corrections to MBA-supported Public Law 119-31 (previously H.R. 1815) that restored VA Home Loan program partial claims authority as a loss mitigation option for servicers (pending the new law’s implementation by the VA). A bipartisan group of senators successfully negotiated (and “whipped” the needed votes to pass) the Senate solution to end the funding stalemate after assurances from the White House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) that a vote on extending a set of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies would be scheduled to take place in the Senate during the second week of December. As reported these last several weeks, MBA prepared a detailed member guide that outlined the impacts the funding impasse would have on single-family and multifamily government lending programs. The prolonged shutdown necessitated furloughs and other Reductions in Force (RIFs) of many federal employees, curtailing operations at key agencies such as HUD (FHA and Ginnie), Treasury, the VA, and USDA. To avoid long-term disruptions to the housing and flood insurance markets, MBA and a broad industry coalition strongly advocated for a restoration of NFIP program authority. Moreover, MBA issued a November 7 press statement from CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, calling for lawmakers to bridge their differences and end the shutdown as quickly as possible. That action was buttressed by a November 10 statement from MBA and a broad coalition of financial trade groups that “welcomed news of the bipartisan deal to reopen the government” and “urged lawmakers to support the [negotiated] agreement.” Lawmakers will continue discussions aimed at enacting the remaining elements of an FY26 spending package (or individual FY26 appropriations bills) for all affected federal agencies prior to January 30, 2026. MBA will continue to urge key administration officials and congressional leaders to quickly strike a durable FY26 funding agreement that emphasizes our industry’s key priorities and avoids any further disruptions to the national economy – and the housing and real estate ecosystems.

MBA Joins Joint Trades Seeking Relief from SEC Filing Disclosures: On Wednesday, November 12, MBA signed a Petition for Rulemaking to amend SEC Rule 17g-5 with other trade groups. While originally well intentioned, to crackdown on “rating shopping” and conflicts of interest, the Rule has seen little practical use and created filing burdens on the CRE industry. The Rule requires Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) to create a password-protected website and post transaction-related details for their initial rating of structured financial products like CMBS. Furthermore, it requires industry participants to work together to ensure that the website is updated with relevant transaction information related to ongoing surveillance of the product. The Rule also requires information relayed via conversation to be posted to the website, resulting in a significant delay in sharing timely information between the NRSROs and market participants. To MBA’s knowledge, no unsolicited ratings have been issued, and no investors have requested that outside NRSROs issue competing ratings on existing CRE transactions. The posting requirements create an unnecessary burden and expense for the CRE industry. Each market participant, from issuers to service providers, must also dedicate personnel and technology resources to capture and post communications and materials for the life of the transaction. MBA will remain engaged throughout the petition process and inform our members of any new developments.  

Proposed Changes to Small Business Lending Rule: On Thursday, November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a proposed rule to update the 1071 small business reporting rules. The proposal would raise the origination threshold from 100 to 1,000 covered credit transactions for each of two consecutive years and proposes to change the gross annual revenue threshold in the rule’s definition of small business from $5 million or less to $1 million or less. The proposal does not include an across-the-board exemption for investment property. MBA has sought changes to the 1071 rule to ensure it is capturing pertinent data related to small business lending – but not create an undue burden on lenders who close few of these loans, or to capture unnecessary information. MBA will provide comment on the proposal by the deadline of December 15. MBA will support changes to the definition and the threshold but will also advocate for clarification that the investment properties exclusion from §1071 applies to all investment property lending.

CFPB Releases Proposed Rule Amending Regulation B: On Thursday, November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) issued a proposed rule that amends provisions related to disparate impact, discouragement of applicants or prospective applicants, and special purpose credit programs under Regulation B, the regulation implementing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA or Act).  The CFPB frames these changes as aligning Regulation B with the statutory text of ECOA, Supreme Court precedent on disparate impact statutes, and recent Executive Orders 14173 and 14281 that emphasized merit-based opportunity and limited disparate-impact enforcement.  MBA previously submitted a comment letter in response to the 2020 RFI on ECOA.  MBA’s summary of the proposed rule is available here. While this is a significant rulemaking with respect to federal anti-discrimination laws generally, it is important to note that much of the conduct covered by ECOA with respect to mortgage lending is also covered by the Fair Housing Act. The proposed changes would limit discrimination claims under ECOA only to acts where creditors treat borrowers differently based on their protected characteristics. Discouragement claims would also be limited to written statements or visual presentations, not acts or practices, such as the placement of branch offices, or marketing aimed at one group over another.  Lastly, Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) created by for-profit institutions can no longer use race, color, national origin, or sex as eligibility criteria for the program.  Comments are due on December 15, 2025. MBA will work with members to file comments.  

CFPB Notifies Court it Cannot Lawfully Draw Funds from the Federal Reserve: On Tuesday, November 11, the CFPB filed a notice informing the court in NTEU v. Vought that the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has determined that the CFPB may not legally request funds at this time from the Federal Reserve under Dodd-Frank. A link to the announcement is available here.  The CFPB believes it can continue to fund its operations until at least December 31, 2025. MBA has consistently noted that defunding the CFPB poses a risk to the mortgage industry and has highlighted the important role the CFPB plays in writing rules and providing supervisory guidance to interpret and make sense of the Dodd Frank Act (see MBA’s Amicus Brief in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association case). The CFPB is not funded through the traditional appropriations process. Instead, the CFPB draws its funding from the Federal Reserve Board’s “combined earnings.”  The OLC reached this conclusion based on the fact that the Federal Reserve System currently lacks any “combined earnings” from which the CFPB can draw funding, as required by Dodd-Frank. OLC interprets “combined earnings” to mean profits (revenues minus interest expense), not gross revenues. Given that the Federal Reserve has reported net losses, the OCL concludes that there are no funds from which to draw.  MBA will keep members informed about any updates. MBA is actively engaged in any relevant rulemaking from the CFPB.  

Indiana Bankruptcy Court Amends Rule in Response to MBA, IMBA Advocacy: Last Thursday, the Southern District of Indiana, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, in response to advocacy by the MBA, Indiana MBA, and MBA members issued revised rule changes that removed a provision that could have been harmful to servicers. MBA, along with the Indiana MBA, submitted a joint comment letter earlier this month to the Local Rules Committee opposing the rule. The rule would have required lenders to consider mortgage payments timely if the payment is provided to a trustee within 21 days of the plan payment due date. This would undermine the nationwide uniformity of credit reporting law under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and create significant operational challenges for mortgage servicers. MBA will keep members informed about any additional updates.

MBA Launches States Campaign for Q1 2026 Grace Period on New Mortgage Call Report Filings: Last week, MBA received a response to its August 26 request that the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) urge its regulator members to provide grace periods for Second-Quarter 2026 filings under the new NMLS Mortgage Call Report Form Version 7 (MCRV7). The request, which was not considered by a state regulator committee until October 20, was prompted by the compressed implementation timeline CSBS announced earlier this year for MCRV7. The new MCR relies heavily on the availability of an updated XML schema, which CSBS did not deliver until October 31. The late release confirms the MBA’s concerns that, during the busy state licensing renewal season, member companies will be forced to reengineer reporting software, test those changes, and operationalize new systems – all within weeks of the January 1 start of required data collection. CSBS declined to recommend a grace period, stating that it views the changes as limited in scope and pointed to a series of “office hours” and a January test environment as sufficient support. Because this response falls short of what is needed, MBA this week launched a state-by-state campaign, asking its state partner associations to submit their own requests for Q1 2026 grace periods directly to their regulators. MCRV7 adds servicing-related reporting elements that create new data collection challenges for licensees. These new fields must be identified, built, and ready to capture data beginning January 1, yet filers have not had access to the XML schema they need to configure and validate their systems. By contrast, when industry faced a similar compressed timeline for the transition from MCRV5 to MCRV6 two years ago, both CSBS and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) urged their members to consider grace periods for initial filings. CSBS’s office hours will be held most Fridays 12:00-1:00pm ET through April 24, 2026. For a full schedule, review this CSBS email sent to companies required to file MCRV7. To access these office hours, please save this link to join the meetings during the scheduled times provided by CSBS. (Meeting ID: 227 443 764 654 7, Passcode: xQ2Z3Fr6). MBA will continue to work with its state partners, CSBS, and AARMR on these grace periods to allow flexibility on filing and account for any potential technical issues in the first quarter of MCRV7.

MA Rent Control Ballot Signatures Collected; MBA, Trades Stand Against Measure: Supporters of a statewide rent control measure in Massachusetts have submitted more than 124,000 signatures to place the proposal on the 2026 ballot. However, several approval steps remain before it appears before voters in November. MBA and its trade association partners, including the Massachusetts MBA, remain opposed and are making clear that rent control will discourage new investment, worsen supply shortages, and ultimately harm renters. Rent control has been proven to reduce housing supply and stall new construction. MBA has long advocated for policy changes like relaxing exclusionary zoning, streamlining the approval process for new developments, and incentivizing construction of multi-family homes and affordable units. Evidence from other states and decades of economic research show that boosting supply can lower rental costs for everyone, whereas tighter rent caps distort the market.​ The proposed measure would cap rent increases statewide at 5% per year, tied to the Consumer Price Index but only able to exceed 5% except in rare cases where inflation exceeds that rate.​ Buildings with four or fewer units, as well as buildings less than 10 years old, would be exempt.​ If approved, the proposal would use rents as of Jan. 31, 2026, as the baseline. The signatures for the ballot initiative are first submitted to local election officials in each municipality for certification. After certification at the local level, the signatures must then be filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office (by December 3^rd), who verifies the total number and officially forwards the measure to the Massachusetts Legislature for review and approval. MBA will work with the Massachusetts MBA and others to continue to oppose the measure. For more information, please review the MBA-supported Housing Solutions Coalition campaign material and MBA’s CONVERGENCE initiative.

MBA and MBA of New Jersey Deliver Opposition Letter to Sponsors of CRA Legislation: Last week, MBA and the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey (MBA-NJ) sent a detailed opposition letter to the sponsors of companion bills S4694 and A5957, which would establish a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) framework for independent mortgage banks (IMBs), New Jersey credit unions, and state-chartered banks. While the letter expressed support for the sponsors’ goal of expanding homeownership opportunities, it emphasized that the proposed legislation fails to address the real barriers facing borrowers—namely, soaring home prices, historically low housing inventory, and limited affordable options that intensify competition in the market. The MBA and MBA-NJ highlighted that a “community reinvestment” model does not align with how IMBs operate and underscored that: New Jersey already has effective, proven programs that expand credit access for first-time and low- to moderate-income (LMI) buyers—programs that would benefit more from increased legislative funding and support. IMBs are national leaders in serving LMI and minority borrowers and communities, including within New Jersey. Implementing the proposed CRA framework would impose substantial costs, likely passed down as higher examination and compliance fees for lenders that would increase borrower costs. The associations urged lawmakers to focus on enhancing existing state programs that directly support affordable homeownership and address the supply-side challenges that continue to limit access for many potential buyers. Immediate action by MBA and its partner association MBA-NJ allow for meaningful conversations in efforts to shift the sponsor’s strategy to proven and known solutions to increase access to credit. MBA and MBA-NJ will continue to collaborate to oppose this legislation and may issue a Mortgage Action Alliance call to action in New Jersey. For more information, please visit MBA’s State CRA resource center 

State Legislatures in Prefiling; MBA's State Legislative Database Tool and Upcoming Training: This month, state legislatures across the country have begun pre-filing legislation for the new year. MBA continues to utilize its comprehensive State Legislative Database to brief members of the State Legislative and Regulatory Committee (SLRC) on the ongoing policy challenges in the states. Additionally, the database is a free member benefit. Once a member logs in using their MBA credentials, they can track any current piece of real estate finance-related legislation in any state. Additionally, members of the SLRC receive biweekly email updates on the status of major bills. The policy challenges facing member companies – particularly state-licensed firms – are voluminous, and the database actively tracks thousands of introduced bills. The system offers members a single and effective way to stay abreast and informed of any developments by “flagging” or “grouping bills” for automatic email updates. MBA's next free, monthly database training is Wednesday, December 3 at 3:00 PM ET. To view key residential and commercial/multifamily policy issues the SLRC is tracking, click here. To sign up for the next training session or to be added to the SLRC for biweekly updates, please contact Ainsely Zimmer.