On August 25, seven federal agencies — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), National Credit Union Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Justice, and Federal Housing Finance Agency (the agencies) — jointly rescinded the February 2022 “Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B,” effective immediately upon Federal Register publication. The agencies’ stated reason for the rescission was to clarify that creditors may not discriminate against borrowers based on prohibited characteristics, and that creditors should not rely on the Interagency Statement or related guidance going forward concerning special purpose credit programs (SPCPs). Curiously, the Federal Reserve Board, which joined in issuing the original Interagency Statement, was not a party to the notice of rescission.

The rescission follows a series of executive orders issued by the Trump Administration directing agencies to review sub-regulatory guidance that may have sanctioned or encouraged discriminatory programs, including Executive Orders 14151, 14173, and 14281, which establish broad nondiscrimination principles, as well as Executive Orders 14192 and 14219, which directed agencies to review and streamline their existing guidance.

Background

The 2022 Interagency Statement had encouraged creditors to offer SPCPs designed to meet the credit needs of specified classes of persons and provided assurances regarding the regulatory permissibility of such programs. The agencies are now rescinding the statement on two principal grounds. First, the Interagency Statement referenced a version of Regulation B that has since been amended by the CFPB. The earlier version of Regulation B permitted creditors to implement lending programs based on race, color, national origin, or sex under certain circumstances, a standard that the agencies now conclude cannot be reconciled with the statutory text of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA), which expressly prohibit discrimination based on prohibited characteristics. Second, the assurances provided in the Interagency Statement with respect to FHA conformity were based on HUD guidance that is no longer in effect.

For these reasons, the federal agencies believe that it is “necessary” to rescind the Interagency Statement to ensure that creditors do not rely on it to engage in discriminatory activities that are inconsistent with ECOA and Regulation B and, to the extent applicable, the FHA.

Prior Related Actions

This interagency rescission is the latest in a series of actions withdrawing SPCP-related guidance. As we discussed in a previous post, the CFPB rescinded its own December 2020 SPCP advisory opinion on June 17, 2026, following the Bureau’s April 2026 final rule, which, among other things, amended Regulation B’s SPCP provisions.

HUD’s withdrawal of its SPCP-related guidance followed a more complicated multi-step process. On December 7, 2021, HUD’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) issued a formal legal memorandum concluding that ECOA-compliant SPCPs did not violate the FHA, which provided a key legal foundation for creditors seeking to operate such programs. However, that opinion was on uncertain legal footing from the outset, as the FHA does not expressly authorize SPCPs. HUD subsequently took two distinct withdrawal actions. First, on September 17, 2025, HUD withdrew its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity policy guidance that had actively encouraged lenders to create SPCPs. That action was later published in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026. Second, on July 17, 2026, HUD rescinded its OGC legal opinion, making it non-authoritative retroactive to September 25, 2025.

Our Take

Together, these actions reflect a consistent and accelerating regulatory posture. The current administration views prior SPCP guidance as incompatible with ECOA, the FHA, and constitutional nondiscrimination requirements. Nonetheless, the agencies’ rescission of the 2022 Interagency Statement does not preclude creditors from proceeding to offer SPCPs, subject to the restrictions contained in Subpart A of Regulation B, as amended in April 2026. The Regulation B final rule prohibits for-profit SPCPs from using race, color, national origin, or sex as eligibility criteria, tightens the documentation and evidence requirements for any SPCP that uses other prohibited bases as program criteria, and imposes a per-borrower evidence requirement for each participant in such a program. As the notice of rescission explains, all SPCPs must continue to comply with ECOA, Regulation B, and the FHA, while noting that “federal law does not authorize any generalized remedial ‘equity’ initiatives absent specific cases of unlawful discrimination…” Creditors that seek to maintain SPCPs — particularly those based on race or sex — should re-evaluate them to ensure that they align with both the Regulation B final rule and the statements in the agencies’ notice of rescission.