The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule implementing ICBA-supported relief from mandatory escrow requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans.

The exemption—the last CFPB rulemaking required by the ICBA-advocated S. 2155 regulatory relief law—would apply to institutions with less than $10 billion in assets, that originate 1,000 or fewer loans, and extend credit in a rural or underserved area.

The final rule does not include an ICBA-advocated update to extend the exemption to lenders that make small-balance HPMLs less than $100,000 but do not satisfy the underserved or rural lending criteria.