On April 22, 2026, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued an industry letter reminding entities regulated under the New York Banking Law of their obligations under New York Executive Law Section 296-a, the state's fair lending law. DFS emphasized that it has the authority to enforce state fair lending laws and to impose penalties for violations of federal fair lending requirements.

On May 28, 2026, the ABA Banking Journal reported that a coalition of consumer groups and fair lending compliance firms has filed a lawsuit to prevent the CFPB from removing disparate impact as a prohibited practice from Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The federal agencies recently removed disparate impact liability from their supervision and enforcement activities following an April 2025 executive order directing agencies to eliminate its use in all regulatory and enforcement contexts.

On January 14, 2026, the HUD issued a proposed rule to remove its discriminatory effects regulations and leaving to courts questions related to interpretations of disparate impact liability under the Fair Housing Act. The proposal to remove disparate impact liability aligns with E.O. 14281issued in April 2025 titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” 

On January 12, 2026, the CFPB and the DOJ withdrew their joint statement issued in October 2023 regarding the implications of a creditor's consideration of an individual's immigration status under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The joint statement was issued to remind financial institutions that all credit applicants are protected from discrimination on the basis of their national origin, race, and other characteristics covered by the ECOA, regardless of their immigration status.

On September 4, 2025, the NCUA announced its removal of all references to disparate impact liability from its Fair Lending Guide and other issuances. These updates are in line with the White House Executive Order 14281, which aims to restore equality of opportunity and meritocracy by directing federal agencies to remove the use of disparate impact liability across all contexts.

On August 29, 2025, the FDIC updated sections of the Consumer Compliance Examination Manual. The manual was updated to reflect that the FDIC will evaluate potential discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act only through evidence of disparate treatment. 

On July 14, 2025, the OCC announced that it has removed references to supervising banks for disparate impact liability from the “Fair Lending” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook and has started removing references in other issuances. Concurrently, the OCC has instructed its examiners that they should no longer examine for disparate impact.

On July 10, 2025, the HUD and the OMB announced the termination of “burdensome” policies introduced under the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) task force. The PAVE task force is an interagency group of 13 federal agencies formed during the Biden administration to address alleged discrimination in the appraisal process.

On June 12, 2025, Reuters reported that a federal judge in Chicago refused to allow the CFPB to vacate a racial discrimination settlement reached last year with Townstone Financial. The court found that there was no basis for granting an extraordinary request.