Group submits fresh recommendations to CFPB
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) submitted formal recommendations to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday, pressing the agency to loosen several mortgage origination rules. The trade group responded to the CFPB's Request for Information (RFI) on Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit, filed under Docket No. CFPB-2026-0018.
CHLA said its recommendations aim to improve mortgage affordability, competition and consumer choice through targeted reforms that cut compliance costs while preserving substantive consumer protections. The CFPB issued the RFI on July 9, asking the public to identify regulatory provisions that may be increasing costs, slowing mortgage origination or otherwise limiting access to credit for creditworthy borrowers.
The request stemmed from Executive Order 14393, "Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit," signed March 13, 2026. CHLA's filing was one of several submitted as the RFI comment period closed. The Mortgage Bankers Association has separately pressed the CFPB on loan originator compensation reform, including in a May letter to acting director Russell Vought calling for allowing originators to reduce compensation to compete more effectively.
Four priority areas
CHLA's letter centered on four areas: TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) modernization, Qualified Mortgage points-and-fees revisions, risk-based supervision for smaller independent mortgage banks, and restricting loan originator compensation rules to transactions between firms.
On TRID, CHLA proposed a bona fide financial emergency waiver letting consumers voluntarily skip waiting periods during genuine emergencies. The group also called for moving government-imposed charges, such as recording fees and transfer taxes, into the 10% cumulative tolerance category rather than the current zero-tolerance framework, arguing lenders cannot predict changes made by government offices. CHLA separately asked the bureau to move lender-provided third-party services into a category with no tolerance limit.
On Qualified Mortgage rules, CHLA proposed removing the 2% cap on bona fide discount points when a governmental or nonprofit provider funds them through a deferred, non-interest-bearing subordinate lien. The group said assistance dollars applied to rate buydowns cut payments roughly twice as much as the same dollars applied to principal, citing an example where $20,000 in principal reduction cut payments by $131 a month, versus $256 for discount points.
Supervision and compensation
CHLA renewed its call for the CFPB to implement Dodd-Frank Section 1024 through genuinely risk-based supervision of smaller independent mortgage banks, arguing the statute has never been explicitly applied to nonbank lenders. It sought an exemption from routine exams comparable to one already available to smaller banks.
On loan originator compensation, CHLA argued restricting the rule to compensation between firms would prevent harms including fewer small-dollar mortgages and difficulty matching competitors' offers.
Consumer groups warn of rollback
A coalition including the National Consumer Law Center, National Housing Law Project, National Fair Housing Alliance, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund and Consumer Federation of America filed comments urging the CFPB to preserve existing borrower protections under Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA). The groups emphasized maintaining the three-day rescission period, improving reverse mortgage disclosures and requiring pre-loan counseling.
"Instead of weakening regulations, we urge the CFPB to enforce the existing TRID regulations," said Steve Sharpe, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "Any changes must serve the ultimate goal of helping borrowers access safe and affordable credit."
The CFPB's broader 2026 regulatory agenda, released July 6, lists ability-to-repay and Qualified Mortgage definitions at the pre-rule stage and LO compensation as a long-term action. The bureau has not indicated when it might act on the comments.
