Regulators withdraw the 2022 statement on special purpose credit programs

Special purpose credit programs, or SPCPs, are lending programs that ECOA and Regulation B deal with under their own provisions. In February 2022 a group of federal agencies issued a joint statement about them. On 25 August 2026 seven agencies withdrew it (91 FR 54875).

The notice is signed by the FDIC, NCUA, OCC, CFPB, HUD, the Department of Justice and FHFA. The rescission took effect on 25 August 2026, the day of publication, and the notice says it applies "immediately."

What was rescinded

The withdrawn document is the "Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B," dated 22 February 2022. The agencies say creditors should not rely on it or on related issuances.

The agencies give two kinds of reason. The first is legal change. The 2022 statement relied on a version of Regulation B that "has since been amended," and the notice points to a revised Regulation B published on 22 April 2026 (91 FR 21620) with what it calls "enhanced standards and eligibility criteria." What the statement said about the Fair Housing Act rested on HUD guidance "that is no longer in effect." HUD's December 2021 statement on SPCPs was withdrawn as of 17 September 2025, and HUD general counsel guidance from the same month was withdrawn as of 25 September 2025. The CFPB's own SPCP advisory opinion of 21 December 2020 was "withdrawn as of June 17, 2026."

The second reason is the agencies' view of the law on discrimination. The notice says the rescission is "necessary to ensure that creditors do not rely on it to engage in discriminatory activities," and states that "Federal law does not authorize any generalized remedial 'equity' initiatives absent specific cases of unlawful discrimination." It cites the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions.

What it doesn't do

The notice does not abolish special purpose credit programs, and it doesn't amend Regulation B itself. That happened in April. What it says is that "All special purpose credit programs must comply with ECOA, and its implementing regulation, Regulation B, and the FHA." In other words, the test for any existing program is now the current text of Regulation B, read without the 2022 statement or the guidance that sat behind it.

What it could mean

If your bank or credit union never ran an SPCP, there is little to do beyond noting that the statement is gone. If you did launch one after 2022 (a first-time homebuyer program, say, or a small business product for a defined area), we think this notice should move a review onto this quarter's calendar.

The awkward part is that many programs were designed with the 2022 statement open on the desk. Their written plans may cite it, and their eligibility criteria may lean on readings that the agencies now say were based on superseded rules. The rescission doesn't say existing programs are unlawful. It removes the cover that the statement gave, and it points to an amended Regulation B whose "enhanced standards and eligibility criteria" are the thing to check against.

In our view the practical steps are modest. Pull each program's written plan. Strike references to the 2022 statement and to the withdrawn HUD and CFPB documents. Then have counsel read the eligibility criteria against the April 2026 version of Regulation B, paying attention to any criterion tied to a characteristic ECOA treats as a prohibited basis. Some programs will need no change. Some may need redesign, or a decision to stop taking new applications.

One more thing. A program you wind down still has borrowers. Decide how you'll service existing loans and what you'll tell applicants already in the pipeline before you make any announcement, because fair lending risk can show up in how a program ends as easily as in how it began.