President Trump Issues Executive Orders to Impact Housing Affordability- Deregulate or Tailor Bank Origination Rules

March 13, 2026

Friday, President Trump issued two executive orders addressing housing affordability. The first is to address small bank originations. “The regulatory and rule changes have undermined community banks’ businesses, concentrated credit and liquidity risk outside the banking system, and resulted in reduced access to credit for some creditworthy borrowers, including rural households and low- and moderate-income households,” the order states.

Why it Matters

• The changes would impact the Truth in Lending Act, reducing compliance rules on ability-to-pay, qualified mortgage underwriting and exempt/modify small-mortgage loans from caps on QM points.
• It also orders the CFPB to consider increasing the asset threshold for exemption from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data collection and reporting, work with banking regulators to exclude 1-4 family residential and construction lending from CRE concentration guidance and eliminate duplicative/unnecessary licensing requirements.

A second EO addresses construction regulations to remove barriers, increase permitting and address onerous mandates at all levels of government.

The MBA and ABA look forward to working to ensure application of these EOs to ensure all banks are able to full participate in the mortgage markets serving their customers and communities.

MBA Supported Legislation Receives Hearing

March 7, 2026

As a founding Board member for the new Michigan Alliance for Legal Reform, the MBA has been instrumental in setting the Alliance’s policy priorities. One of those priorities is to restore the “Open and Obvious” doctrine in Michigan, which protects businesses from frivolous litigation. HB-4582 legislation to restore this protection received a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee this week, where MBA submitted a card of support

House Economic Competitiveness Passes Smart Zone Bill

March 7, 2026

Last week, the House Economic Competitiveness Committee approved HB 5031 unanimously. The bill outlines the criteria and processes for municipalities to establish and manage certified technology parks and alternative energy parks using Tax Increment Financing. The MBA Commercial Lending committee is monitoring this bill for further impact.

HB 5497- Mortgage Minimums

March 7, 2026

Representative Bill G. Schuette introduced HB 5497 last month to increase the statutory minimums on mortgage and home improvement loans. The current minimums are $10k and $1k and the legislation aims to adjust the amount, last done 30 years ago, to $50k and $1k, respectively. Originally, the bill proposed an annual adjustment but with suggestion from our MBA Retail Lending committee, citing compliance and marketing challenges, would be adjusted every 5 years. The adjustment is tied to CPI but the sponsor and the industry are working to determine a more mortgage specific measure.

 SB 272 - Senate Housing and Human Services

March 7, 2026

On Tuesday, the Senate Housing and Human Services Committee took testimony on SB 272. The bill is a technical fix to cut red tape around site condominium developments in the state. The MBA Commercial Lending committee is monitoring this legislation to ensure any potential amendments retain the original intention of the bill which is to help spur development, particularly single-family home projects in Michigan. 

FDIC Extends Comment Period for GENIUS Act Implementation

February 11, 2026

The FDIC announced that it will push back to May the deadline for comment on its proposal to create a process through which banks can seek agency approval to issue stablecoins through a subsidiary.

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Bill Proposed to Crack Down on Social Media Scams

February 11, 2026

Proposed legislation would provide “a strong framework” to improve social media companies’ urgency in removing fraudulent advertising, “stopping countless scams before they start,” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said in a letter to the bill’s sponsors.

Read the Full Details

US House Passes Bipartisan House Package

February 11, 2026

The US House passed a legislative package this week intended to boost housing availability in the U.S., including language to raise supervisory thresholds for community banks and to encourage new bank formation. The House later passed the bill by a 390-9 vote.

The Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644) is a bipartisan housing package advanced by the House Financial Services Committee. In a letter to House leaders, ABA applauded policy initiatives to create affordable housing and listed the provisions of the bill it supports. They include:

• Increasing the Public Welfare Investment cap from 15% to 20% for banks regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve.
• Raising the total asset threshold from $3 billion to $6 billion under which institutions qualify for a limited-scope examination directly after an on-site, full-scope exam. The bill also would raise the total asset threshold under which institutions qualify for an 18-month exam cycle from $3 billion to $6 billion.
• Requiring federal banking agencies to streamline and simplify the new bank application process. It would also allow applicants to request a designated caseworker within the regulatory agency to assist with the process.
• The creation of a pilot two-year phase-in period of federal capital requirements for new banks.
• Requiring the Government Accountability Office and appropriate federal banking regulators to issue reports detailing the causes of bank failures, regulatory actions and any management or supervisory shortcomings, within certain specified timeframes after the FDIC invokes the systemic risk exception.
• The establishment of a Financial Agent Mentor-Protégé Program within the Treasury Department to strengthen minority, rural and small financial institutions and expand access to housing credit. The bill also would require federal regulators to jointly study ways to improve the growth, capital adequacy, and profitability of rural depository institutions. 

Notice of Final Rulemaking on FDIC Official Signs, Advertisement of Membership, False Advertising, Misrepresentation of Insured Status, and Misuse of the FDIC's Name or Logo

January 29, 2026

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is issuing a final rule amending the FDIC Rules and Regulations governing signage requirements for insured depository institutions’ (IDIs’) digital deposit-taking channels and automated teller machines (ATMs) and like devices. 

The final rule addresses implementation issues and sources of potential confusion raised since the FDIC’s adoption of signage requirements for digital deposit-taking channels and ATMs in 2023. The final rule provides additional flexibility to IDIs while also enabling consumers to better understand when they are conducting business with an IDI and when their funds are protected by the FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage. 

The FDIC is amending the agency’s Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations (Guidelines). Through these amendments, the FDIC is replacing the current Supervision Appeals Review Committee with an independent, standalone office within the FDIC, known as the Office of Supervisory Appeals (Office). The Office will serve as the final level of review of material supervisory determinations made by the FDIC. 

Read the full article  

Amendments to Supervisory Appeals

January 29, 2026

The FDIC is amending the agency’s Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations (Guidelines). Through these amendments, the FDIC is replacing the current Supervision Appeals Review Committee with an independent, standalone office within the FDIC, known as the Office of Supervisory Appeals (Office). The Office will serve as the final level of review of material supervisory determinations made by the FDIC. 

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Stablecoin Markup - “Compromise” Falls Short

January 14, 2026

A manager amendment has been added, Section 404 in an attempt to provide a compromise on the interest/yield loophole. This is not a compromise we can support as the language prioritizes stablecoin rewards over credit for families, small businesses, and communities.

The following specifics summarize many of our concerns:

• The prohibition is severely limited by applying to payments made “solely in connection with the holding of a payment stablecoin.” Under this construction, a simple ancillary reason for a payment can be added to the offer in order to avoid any restrictions.
• In addition, the list of exceptions is vast, allowing payments made in connection with transactions, transfers, use of a wallet, memberships, promotional programs, and many other activities. Between the limited prohibition and extensive exceptions, it’s not clear that any payments will be prohibited in practice.
• Aspects of the section apply inconsistently to digital asset service providers, digital asset intermediaries, or all persons, and in no case is there reference to affiliates, subsidiaries, third-parties, parent companies, or partners.
• There is no language around anti-evasion of the prohibition, enforcement mechanisms or penalties attached to non-compliance.
• Finally, there is a rule of construction that may weaken the original Genius Act prohibition by limiting what is deemed an interest payment from an issuer. 

Credit Card Rate Caps Proposed

January 15, 2026

Discussions heated up in Washington around a temporary nation-wide cap on credit card interest rates. Specifically, the proposal would cap rates at 10% for one-year, possibly beginning January 20th. The mechanism to implement and enforce this cap remain unclear. The MBA has been fervently educating policymakers in Washinton about the impact to credit availability, particularly low-to-moderate income borrowers, should a rate cap be implemented. Banks must be allowed to appropriately assess risk on a case-by-case basis when making credit decisions. We remain committed to policy that protects banks ability to provide access to credit for business and consumers in a safe and sound manner.