MBA backs CFPB strategic plan, urges broader mortgage rule relief

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Friday submitted a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to support the bureau’s proposed 2026–2030 strategic plan, backing efforts to reduce regulatory burdens while urging the agency to go further in easing mortgage rules that expand credit access.

The draft strategic plan, which the CFPB published for public comment on March 13, outlines the agency’s three primary goals: addressing pressing threats to consumers; reducing what it describes as unwarranted regulatory burdens; and strengthening the agency’s governance and culture. The public feedback submission period ended on Friday.

Under the first goal, “Address Pressing Threats to Consumers,” the bureau said it will focus enforcement and supervision on “tangible” consumer harm, particularly cases involving measurable financial losses.

The goal involves several objectives to combat fraud; protect servicemembers and veterans in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan space; and ensure what it calls “fair banking,” including scrutiny of potential “debanking” practices tied to political or ideological factors.

The agency also signaled a shift in enforcement priorities, stating it intends to return money directly to affected consumers rather than relying on fines that feed into its civil penalty fund.

The second goal, “Reduce Unwarranted Regulatory Burdens,” includes several objectives, including the need to “systemically identify and address outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations,” and to “minimize regulatory burden by eliminating duplicative supervision or supervision outside of the CFPB’s authority.”

“MBA agrees with the aim of the strategic plan to concentrate the CFPB’s resources on identifying and addressing pressing threats to consumers, reversing instances of regulatory overreach, and lowering the compliance and liability costs associated with consumer financial products,” Pete Mills, the MBA’s senior vice president of residential policy and strategic industry engagement, said in the letter.

The trade group praised recent CFPB actions that align with these goals, including the rollback of a proposed rule requiring certain nonbank firms to report enforcement orders to a federal registry that became effective in October 2025.

It also backed the bureau’s move away from “regulation by enforcement,” saying it supports limiting enforcement to cases involving clear, measurable consumer harm.

MBA urged the CFPB “to incorporate the Trump administration’s recent executive order on mortgage credit and to ensure any regulatory relief is applied broadly across the market — not limited to smaller banks — so borrowers across all lender types can benefit from lower costs and improved access to credit.”

MBA pressed for adjustments to TRID tolerance thresholds, as well as expanded error-correction provisions and reforms under the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), warning that limiting changes to smaller institutions would reduce their impact on costs and access to credit.

The group also called for changes to servicing rules to ease loss mitigation, revisions to loan originator compensation standards, and updates to disclosure and underwriting requirements.

The CFPB has been undergoing major restructuring under the second Trump administration. After former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra was fired from his position and Russell Vought was appointed as acting director, the agency shut down most of its functions and closed its headquarters.

In April 2025, the Trump administration fired 90% of the CFPB’s staff, a move that was challenged in court and temporarily blocked. In August, a federal appeals court panel allowed the firings to proceed, leading to layoffs of about 1,500 employees.

While the agency has not officially been dismantled despite Vought’s announced plans, it has paused most enforcement actions, dropped investigations and started rolling back Biden-era rules.