NFHA Statement Condemning Federal Rollback of Special Purpose Credit Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) strongly condemns the Trump Administration’s latest attack on key civil rights protections and affordable access to mortgages and lending for all people in the United States. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, by statute, allows governments, financial services firms, and non-profit entities to create Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) to make certain lenders provide fair access to credit in all communities. While Congress has not changed the law, today seven federal regulatory agencies that regulate banking and housing rescinded their prior support for SPCPs.
SPCPs have responsibly opened credit access to underserved communities that generations of discrimination unlawfully locked out. From 2022-2024, SPCPs backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) helped nearly 58,000 people of all races fairly access homeownership and the ability to build wealth through lower lending costs and down payments. By the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s own data, those loans generated $17.2 billion in positive economic impact from 2022 to 2024 alone.
The agencies’ actions follow the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent rulemaking that purported to change the law on the books about SPCPs. Ninety-three percent of the commenters on the CFPB’s rule opposed rolling back SPCPs. NFHA has sued the CFPB to stop their arbitrary actions and prevent the rollback of SPCPs that will have devastating, chilling effects on protections and programs that have worked to prevent discrimination and expand access to fair lending throughout the nation.
The Administration’s actions will only serve to stop efforts to narrow America’s yawning racial wealth gap and further increase the cost of loans and housing for the people of America at a time when they are facing higher prices and lending rates due to tariffs, oil supply shortages, and the Administration’s refusal to focus on pocketbook issues for everyday people. Voters demanded solutions to the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis that would place homeownership within reach. Instead, this Administration is shattering their American dreams with actions that endanger the health of the nation’s housing finance system.
For media inquiries: contact JGlover@NationalFairHousing.org.
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About the National Fair Housing Alliance
The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) leads a coalition that works to build inclusive, well-resourced, and resilient communities; expand equitable opportunities; and end housing discrimination.