Episode 144: Interagency Rescission of Special Purpose Credit Programs

On August 25, 2026, HUD led a seven-agency joint rescission of the Biden-era Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B. The agencies — HUD, CFPB, DOJ, FDIC, NCUA, OCC, and FHFA — issued a unified directive telling creditors to stop relying on the 2022 guidance. For LIHTC lenders, syndicators, state HFAs, and GSE counterparties that built or expanded race-conscious credit programs under that framework, the compliance clock is now running. Key Takeaways: Seven federal agencies — HUD, CFPB, DOJ, FDIC, NCUA, OCC, and FHFA — jointly rescinded the February 2022 Interagency SPCP Statement on August 25, 2026. Creditors are explicitly directed not to rely on the 2022 statement, prior guidance, or related issuances going forward. The rescission is anchored in Executive Orders 14173 and 14151, which directed agencies to eliminate race-based preferences across federal programs and federally influenced credit markets. FHFA's participation signals direct implications for GSE seller-servicers — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac counterparties should expect updated guidance on race-conscious credit products. DOJ Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon explicitly identified enforcement of equal-treatment civil rights standards as a priority, elevating litigation risk for non-compliant programs. The underlying ECOA/Regulation B legal framework for SPCPs remains intact — programs built on economically relevant, non-protected criteria are not automatically disqualified. State HFAs and mission-driven lenders with demographic targeting in down-payment assistance or soft-second structures face the most immediate compliance exposure. The legal authority for SPCPs has not been eliminated — but the federal policy environment that made race-conscious credit programs administratively safe is gone. For the affordable housing industry, the priority action is an immediate legal review of any SPCP or targeted lending product that uses protected characteristics as a qualifying criterion. Watch for FHFA seller-servicer guidance as the next concrete signal of how GSE-connected lenders will be expected to respond. Subscribe to The Spring Street Brief for daily updates on affordable housing in America.