A bill to significantly curb the practice of trigger leads is nearing President Trump's desk
It’s been a long and arduous road for mortgage industry campaigners towards curbing the use of so-called “trigger leads” in the mortgage process, but that mission took a big leap forward this week with unanimous approval in the House of Representatives of a bill curtailing the practice.
That June 23 vote means both houses of Congress have now endorsed trigger lead legislation, with the focus now shifting to reconciling the differences between the two versions – potentially involving a conference committee or one chamber adopting the other version – before the bill is sent for President Trump’s signature.
The news marks a significant step towards limiting the prominence of trigger leads, which occur when a consumer applies for a mortgage and prompt credit bureaus to sell that information to other lenders – often leading to potential borrowers receiving unsolicited calls, texts, and emails from competing lenders.
Kimber White (pictured top), president-elect of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), told Mortgage Professional America the progress made in advancing the trigger leads bill illustrated what the mortgage industry could achieve by working together in pursuit of a common goal.
“We went through several trigger lead bills. All have been compromised, so to be here and to finally have other organizations come together with us and come to the table, working with other industry partners and associations shows what can be done,” he said. “We’re almost there.”
The US House of Representatives passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, aiming to ban "abusive" mortgage trigger leads. Jim Nabors of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers called it a "major victory" for consumers and professionalshttps://t.co/9OflaqmlL6
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 25, 2025
Advocates overcome 2024 setback to push bill forward
Efforts to get trigger lead legislation over the line have intensified since the end of last year, when the bill was narrowly thwarted by failing to pass the House of Representatives in December.
Attention now turns to the back-and-forth between the House and Senate on the issue, and what the eventual version combining input from both will look like.
White said he expects any changes to be minor, although a timeline for a final bill being signed into law currently remains unclear. Still, hopes are high that the legislation could be signed, sealed, and delivered by the end of the year.
“It depends on whether the House is stubborn or not, how much the Senate people want to change… it’s back and forth,” he said. “It’s discussion. We still believe before the end of the year it’s going to happen – I would hope within the next 90 days.
“That would be a real goal for all of us. If it’s sooner, great. We’re ready for it tomorrow. We’re going to continue pushing. We’re going to let the members know that this isn’t done yet – we still need to get over the goal line, and we need to let people know the urgency for this. Together, we can make that work.”
Legislation marks a win for the mortgage industry, says exec
The legislation would significantly limit the circumstances under which credit reporting agencies can sell trigger leads, enhancing consumer privacy and reducing unsolicited communications during the mortgage application process, although it wouldn’t introduce an outright ban on the practice.
Credit reporting agencies would still be permitted to sell trigger leads – but only to lenders or companies that already have an established relationship with the consumer, usually meaning that a consumer has previously done business with the lender or the lender is servicing a current mortgage or financial account for the consumer.
Companies with clear, written, and verifiable consent from the consumer would also be allowed to receive trigger leads, while permitted credit inquiries will remain for pre-qualification or pre-approval by lenders where consumer consent or a relationship exists.
Still, White described the developments as an overall win for the mortgage industry. “The servicers and lenders and banks are going to have opportunities – that’s the negative side I’ve heard about this, but the fact of the matter is that it does protect everyone,” he said.
“It’s only if you have a relationship with that client that you can call the person, or if you’re the servicer or the mortgage broker. So that is really going to hinder people from calling, and it’s going to protect our industry as a whole.”
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