Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions published

The Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions was published on September 4, 2025. Padgett Law Group is providing an analysis of key actions highlighted within this Agenda. Of particular note is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Final Rule on Streamlining Regulation X, which is tentatively slated for publication around December 2025.

Background:

• The Unified Agenda reports on the actions administrative agencies plan to issue in the near and long term. Released by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Agenda provides important public notice and transparency about proposed regulatory and deregulatory actions within the Executive Branch.
• It breaks down the Agenda Stage of Rulemaking by Prerule Stage, Proposed Rule Stage and Final Rule Stage.  
  

Key Highlights by Applicable Agency:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB):

• Final Rule on Reg X:

• The Final Rule on Streamlining Mortgage Servicing for Borrowers Experiencing Payment Difficulties (Regulation X) is highlighted as of a timetable for publication as of December 2025. As a reminder the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was previously published for comment in July 2024. Highlights from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from July 2024, excerpts copied and pasted:

• “The CFPB proposed to streamline and simplify Regulation X's loss mitigation procedures by removing most of the existing requirements regarding incomplete and complete loss mitigation applications and replacing them with a new framework based on foreclosure procedural safeguards. 
• Under the proposed framework, once a borrower makes a request for loss mitigation assistance, the loss mitigation review cycle begins. It continues until either the borrower's loan is brought current or one of the following foreclosure procedural safeguards is met: 1) the servicer reviews the borrower for all available loss mitigation options and no available options remain, or 2) the borrower remains unresponsive for a specified period of time despite the servicer regularly taking steps to reach the borrower. During a loss mitigation review cycle, the servicer may not begin or advance the foreclosure process and borrowers would also be protected against the accrual of certain fees.”
• Proposed to remove currently required loss mitigation notices that would no longer be necessary under the new proposed framework, such as those notifying a borrower about whether a loss mitigation application is complete or incomplete.
• Proposed to require servicers to provide certain additional information in written early intervention notices, including, among other things, the name of the owner or assignee of the borrower's mortgage loan, a brief description of each type of loss mitigation option that is generally available from that owner or assignee, as well as a website to access a list of all loss mitigation options that may be available from that owner or assignee
• Proposed to require that servicers provide loss mitigation determination notices and appeal rights to borrowers regarding all types of loss mitigation options, instead of just loan modifications, and for offers as well as denials.
• The CFPB also proposed to require servicers to include certain additional information in determination notices, including the key borrower-provided inputs, if any, that served as the basis for the determination; a list of other loss mitigation options that are still available to the borrower, if any, including a clear statement describing the next steps the borrower must take to be reviewed for those options or, if applicable, a statement that the servicer has reviewed the borrower for all available loss mitigation options and none remain; and, if applicable, a list of any loss mitigation options that the servicer previously offered to the borrower that remain available but that the borrower did not accept.”

Federal Register :: Streamlining Mortgage Servicing for Borrowers Experiencing Payment Difficulties; Regulation X

• Discretionary Servicing under Reg X:

• Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Scheduled:

• In 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to mortgage loan servicing. As part of that rulemaking, the CFPB adopted various provisions pursuant to the CFPB’s discretionary authorities under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Those discretionary provisions, which the CFPB has amended periodically, include requirements relating to servicer policies and procedures, early intervention with delinquent borrowers, continuity of contact, and procedures for evaluating and responding to loss mitigation applications. The CFPB is issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit comments and information to help the CFPB assess the costs and benefits of those discretionary provisions for the purpose of determining whether the CFPB should amend or rescind those provisions.

Department of Housing and Urban Development:

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking scheduled for April 2026:

• Streamlining and Revising HUD’s Free Assumability and Conveyance Restrictions for FHA Mortgages:

• “HUD’s regulations currently include complex prohibitions and exceptions to restrictions on conveyances and assumability of FHA mortgages. The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016, (Pub. L. 114-201) (HOTMA), requires that HUD’s regulations on private transfer fees, previously prohibited as restrictions on conveyances, conform with the policy imposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for loans purchased by Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).
• Additionally, such prohibitions may be burdensome to implement for programs designed to promote affordable homeownership, and HUD frequently processes stakeholder inquiries about free assumability questions. FHA participants across the country routinely submit questions about covenant provisions in borrower transactional documents, adding time to their transaction and highlighting areas that should be updated in the regulation.
• This rule proposes to revise HUD’s requirements on conveyances and assumability to conform with the FHFA requirements for private transfer fees and further streamline the process to allow for free assumability in a less costly and burdensome fashion and provide for updates based on FHA participant feedback.”

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for May 2026:

• Single Family Mortgage Insurance Updates to Claims Procedures, Curtailment of Interest and Disallowance of Certain Expenses Incurred Beyond Established Timeframes, and Claim Filing Deadlines (FR-6206):

• “Over the past decade, the costs associated with servicing both performing and non-performing mortgages throughout the industry have increased significantly. This adversely impacts servicers as well as borrowers who have the costs passed onto them in the form of higher mortgage fees.
• This proposed rule would streamline the requirements related to curtailment of interest and other expenses incurred for missing certain servicing deadlines when filing a claim to HUD. These changes would reduce costs for forward mortgage servicers significantly.
• This rule also proposes to establish deadlines that define FHA’s liability for claim payments for insurance benefits. This change would improve HUD's ability to manage the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund by enabling HUD to understand its outstanding claim payment obligations, helping to ensure program integrity, and minimizing potential fraud and abuse.”

Department of Veterans Affairs:

• Final Action Scheduled for December 2025:

• Loan Guaranty: Loan Reporting and Partial or Total Loss of Guaranty or Insurance. The Notice of Proposed Rule was previously scheduled in the Federal Register in November 2024. Comments were due on by January 21, 2025.  Seven Comments were submitted.

• “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its regulations governing loan reporting requirements for lenders that participate in the VA-guaranteed home loan program and circumstances when VA would assert a defense for partial or total loss of guaranty or insurance for lenders and holders.
• These amendments will support VA’s ongoing efforts to modernize and transform technology and processes within the guaranteed home loan program, capitalizing on industry standard datasets.
• In addition, these regulatory changes will update and enhance the loan guaranty reporting requirements for lenders, providing veterans stronger protections against noncompliant loans through improved transparency and oversight of the program.”

Federal Housing Finance Agency:

• Repeal of Fair Lending Oversight and Equitable Housing Finance Regulations:

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Scheduled for May 2026:

• “The proposed rule would repeal the existing Fair Lending Oversight and Equitable Housing Finance regulations (12 CFR part 1293) which set forth requirements related to fair lending oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (the "regulated entities"), equitable housing finance planning by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and certain data collection and reporting by the regulated entities.”
  

Link to Unified Agenda: Current Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

This blog post was written by Marissa M. Yaker, Esq.