H.R. 9380

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9380 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9380

To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require creditors to 
consider certain additional credit information when making mortgage 
loans, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 18, 2026

Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Moore of Wisconsin) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require creditors to 
consider certain additional credit information when making mortgage 
loans, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Access to Credit through 
Consumer-Permissioned Data Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:
(1) Using alternative data in mortgage lending (either 
through alternative credit scores or in underwriting) has the 
potential to increase access to credit for individuals with 
little or no credit history with the national credit reporting 
agencies (NCRAs), according to a review of alternative data use 
in mortgage lending by the Government Accountability Office in 
December 2021.
(2) Approximately 32 million consumers do not have any 
credit history with the NCRAs or did not have enough credit 
history to be scored, according to a 2025 report by the Bureau 
of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB). The CFPB also reported 
that this population disproportionately included low-income 
consumers, younger consumers, and consumers of color.
(3) The use of alternative data to establish a low- or 
moderate-income borrower's credit history for the purpose of 
extending mortgage credit can help lenders meet goals of the 
Community Reinvestment Act.
(4) Mortgage underwriting systems that allow lenders to use 
consumer-permissioned alternative credit information may help 
expand access to mortgages for borrowers with lower credit 
scores and communities of color. On September 21, 2021, Fannie 
Mae updated its automated underwriting system so that it 
notifies lenders that a borrower may benefit from the inclusion 
of consistent rental payment information, and with the 
consumer's permission, the underwriting system will 
automatically identify positive rental payments within bank 
statement data and include this in its credit assessment. 
According to a fair lending and credit risk analysis by Fannie 
Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the populations 
most likely to benefit from this change are applicants with 
lower credit scores, who are disproportionately consumers of 
color.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO CONSIDER ADDITIONAL CREDIT INFORMATION WHEN 
MAKING MORTGAGE LOANS.

(a) In General.--The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 701 the following:
``Sec. 701A. Requirement to consider additional credit information when 
making mortgage loans
``(a) In General.--A creditor extending a mortgage loan shall, in 
evaluating the creditworthiness of an applicant, consider credit 
information not reported through a nationwide consumer reporting 
agency, if--
``(1) the applicant--
``(A) requests such consideration;
``(B) authorizes the provision of the credit 
information to be considered; and
``(C) states that the applicant does not believe 
that credit information reported through consumer 
reporting agencies fully or accurately reflects the 
applicant's creditworthiness in the absence of such 
information; and
``(2) the credit information relates to the types of 
information that the creditor would consider if otherwise 
reported and includes current payment and transaction 
information, such as bank statement information or rental 
payment information.
``(b) Treatment of Additional Information.--A creditor shall treat 
any information provided pursuant to subsection (a) in the same manner 
and with the same weight as the creditor would treat the same 
information if it were provided by a consumer reporting agency, as 
defined through regulations by the Director of the Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection, unless the creditor reasonably determines that 
the information is the result of a material misrepresentation, 
according to regulations provided by the Director of the Bureau.
``(c) Notice to Applicants.--
``(1) In general.--A creditor described under subsection 
(a) shall provide each applicant for a mortgage loan with a 
notice that includes--
``(A) an explanation of the applicant's right under 
this section to authorize the provision of additional 
credit information to the creditor for consideration, 
including examples of such additional information, as 
well as the benefits of providing such information; and
``(B) the right of the creditor to disregard any 
such information if the creditor determines, according 
to regulations provided by the Director of the Bureau, 
that the information is the result of a material 
misrepresentation.
``(2) Notice languages.--Notices required under paragraph 
(1) shall be made available in each of the 8 languages most 
commonly spoken by individuals with limited English 
proficiency, as determined by the Director of the Bureau using 
information published by the Director of the Bureau of the 
Census.
``(3) Form language.--The Director of the Bureau shall 
establish form language, which shall be used by each creditor 
when providing the notices required under this subsection, 
providing--
``(A) the examples described under paragraph 
(1)(A);
``(B) the description of the benefits described 
under paragraph (1)(A); and
``(C) the non-English language versions of the 
notices described under paragraph (2).
``(d) Consideration of Alternative Data.--A creditor shall ensure 
that the alternative data provided under the requirements of subsection 
(a) shall be considered as part of the decisioning process.
``(e) Treatment of Underwriting Systems.--
``(1) In general.--Any person, including any Federal agency 
that insures, guarantees, supplements, or assists a federally 
backed single-family or multifamily mortgage loan, who develops 
or maintains an underwriting system for mortgage loans shall 
ensure such system complies with the requirements described 
under subsection (a).
``(2) Rulemaking.--The Director of the Bureau (in 
consultation with the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 
Agency, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and any 
other Federal agency that insures, guarantees, supplements, or 
assists a federally backed single-family or multifamily 
mortgage loan) may issue such regulations as, in the judgement 
of the Director, may be necessary to capture consumer-
permissioned data in automated underwriting systems.
``(f) Consumer Reporting Agency Defined.--In this section, the term 
`consumer reporting agency' has the meaning given that term under 
section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 701 the following:

``701A. Requirement to consider additional credit information when 
making mortgage loans.''.
(c) Rulemaking; Application Date.--Not later than the end of the 
18-month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall issue 
final rules to carry out the amendments made by this section, and such 
amendments shall apply to creditors on and after the effective date of 
such final rules.
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