On July 6, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its 2026 regulatory agenda, outlining its planned rulemaking initiatives across the pre-rule, proposed rule, and final rule stages. The agenda reflects the Bureau’s continued shift under the current administration toward deregulation, regulatory streamlining, and reconsideration of rules issued under prior leadership.

The CFPB releases regulatory agendas twice a year in voluntary conjunction with a broader initiative led by the Office of Management and Budget to publish a Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions across the federal government. The Bureau’s 2026 regulatory agenda is actually the Fall 2025 agenda, which was delayed, and some of the actions described are no longer current, as explained below.

Pre-rule Stage

The Bureau has three items in the pre-rule stage, two of which are carried over from previous agendas and one that is appearing for the first time:

  • Clarifications to Dodd-Frank Act §§ 1031 and 1036: The Bureau is considering rulemaking or other activities to clarify the statutory language governing unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices (UDAAP) under §§ 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Pre-rule activity is anticipated in November 2026.
  • Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgages: The Bureau is evaluating whether further adjustments to ability-to-repay requirements and qualified mortgage (QM) definitions are warranted following the expiration of the Temporary Government-Sponsored Enterprise QM loan definition in October 2022 and the General QM Final Rule issued in December 2020. Pre-rule activity is anticipated in August 2026.
  • Prepaid Accounts Under Regulation E and Regulation Z (new): The Bureau is considering whether amendments to its 2016 prepaid accounts rule are necessary following a federal court ruling that certain aspects of the rule exceeded the Bureau’s authority. Pre-rule activity is anticipated in November 2026.

Proposed Rule Stage

The agenda includes several significant items in the proposed rule stage, several of which reflect the current administration’s deregulatory priorities:

  • Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Reconsideration: The Bureau plans to issue a proposed rule reconsidering the remaining provisions of its 2017 payday lending rule, including compliance dates. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is anticipated in July 2026. This item is designated as deregulatory under Executive Order 14192.
  • Personal Financial Data Rights (1033 Rule) Reconsideration: Following an Advance NPRM issued in August 2025 (discussed here), the Bureau plans to issue a proposed rule reconsidering its November 2024 §1033 open banking final rule. An NPRM is anticipated in July 2026.
  • Procedures for Guidance Documents: Consistent with Executive Order 13891, the Bureau is considering regulations to ensure that it issues guidance documents through fair and responsible procedures. An NPRM is anticipated in September 2026.
  • Procedures for Periodic Review of Bureau Regulations: The Bureau is considering a rule requiring periodic reviews of its regulations to ensure alignment with current market dynamics and technological developments, and to identify and address regulations imposing unwarranted burdens. An NPRM is anticipated in October 2026.
  • Defining Larger Participants — Automobile Financing, Consumer Debt Collection, Consumer Reporting, and International Money Transfer Markets: Following Advance NPRMs issued in August 2025 on all four markets (discussed here), the Bureau is moving toward proposed rules reconsidering the larger participant tests in each of these markets. NPRMs are anticipated in September 2026 for all four markets.
  • Contingency Calculations for Average Prime Offer Rate (new): The Bureau is considering authorizing the use of contingency calculations to determine Average Prime Offer Rate (APOR) values when the Bureau does not publish its weekly APOR tables. An NPRM is anticipated in July 2026.

Final Rule Stage

The agenda includes nine items in the final rule stage, spanning a range of topics from mortgage servicing to equal credit opportunity:

  • Streamlining Mortgage Servicing for Borrowers Experiencing Payment Difficulties: A final rule is anticipated in August 2026, completing the Bureau’s proposed streamlined mortgage servicing rule issued in July 2024.
  • Financial Data Transparency Act: A joint final rule with Treasury, the Federal Reserve, Office of Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and National Credit Union Administration establishing data standards for financial regulatory reporting is anticipated to be issued in July 2026.
  • Remittance Transfers Under Regulation E: A final rule amending certain remittance transfer disclosure requirements (discussed here) is anticipated in November 2026.
  • Small Business Lending Data Collection Under Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) Reconsideration: The final rule reconsidering aspects of the Bureau’s 2023 § 1071 small business lending data collection and reporting rule (discussed here), which was issued on May 1, 2026, will become effective in July 2026. This item is designated as deregulatory under Executive Order 14192.
  • COVID-19 Mortgage Protections Rescission: Finalization of an interim final rule rescinding the COVID-19 mortgage protections under Regulation X is anticipated to be issued in November 2026.
  • Rescission of State Official Notification Rules: After withdrawing a final rule following adverse public comments, the Bureau anticipates additional rulemaking activity in November 2026 on its procedures governing state official notification of Consumer Financial Protection Act enforcement actions.
  • ECOA/Regulation B: A final rule clarifying ECOA obligations with respect to disparate impact, discouragement, and special purpose credit programs, which was issued on May 1, 2026, will become effective in July 2026.
  • Consumer Financial Civil Penalty Fund Rule Amendment (new): A final rule is anticipated in August 2026 that would amend the Bureau’s Civil Penalty Fund rule to remove references to allocating funds for consumer education and financial literacy programs, following an NPRM issued in June 2025.

Our Take

The CFPB’s 2026 agenda signals an active rulemaking period ahead, despite limited staffing, and continues a trend that has been building since the start of the current administration: a sustained and deliberate shift toward deregulation, regulatory reconsideration, and reduced supervisory reach. Most of the items represent reconsideration of an existing rule issued under the prior administration, rather than a new regulatory undertaking. The designation of multiple agenda items as deregulatory under Executive Order 14192 makes the Bureau’s direction explicit.

At the same time, the agenda is not purely subtractive. The Bureau is moving forward with rulemakings that clarify its own procedural standards, including proposed rules on guidance document procedures and periodic regulatory review — steps that could ultimately constrain how future administrations use the Bureau’s rulemaking and supervisory tools.