The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rescinded an interagency statement that had encouraged national banks to create Special Purpose Credit Programs on Aug. 25, removing federal regulatory support for race-conscious lending initiatives designed to expand credit access in historically underserved communities.
The rollback, issued as Bulletin 2026-39, removes federal regulatory encouragement for the programs and aligns with the administration’s broader dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government.
The Biden-era guidance had encouraged banks to use Special Purpose Credit Programs — authorized under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — to target lending to populations with demonstrated credit disparities, including minority communities, the OCC said. The rescission does not make such programs illegal but removes the regulatory signal that they are favored.
The decision affects fair lending frameworks across the national banking system. Banks that established SPCPs in response to the prior guidance will need to reassess their programs against the new regulatory posture.
Special Purpose Credit Programs allow lenders to offer favorable terms to specific populations that have been historically disadvantaged in credit markets. Civil rights organizations have argued the programs are a necessary tool to address persistent racial disparities in homeownership and small business lending.
The OCC’s bulletin is part of a broader pattern of financial regulators rolling back DEI-adjacent policies. The Federal Reserve, FDIC and other banking agencies have taken similar steps to remove references to race-conscious programs from their supervisory frameworks.
National banks operate under OCC supervision, meaning the bulletin directly affects some of the largest financial institutions in the country and the communities they serve.