Small business lending data collection rulemaking
We are now in the process of writing regulations to implement section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
In the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Congress directed the Bureau to adopt regulations governing the collection of small business lending data. Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require financial institutions to compile, maintain, and submit to the Bureau certain data on applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
Congress enacted section 1071 for the purpose of:
- Facilitating enforcement of fair lending laws
- Enabling communities, governmental entities, and creditors to identify business and community development needs and opportunities for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses
Notice of proposed rulemaking
On September 1, 2021, we issued a proposed rule amending Regulation B to implement changes to ECOA made by section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Consistent with section 1071, we are proposing to require covered financial institutions to collect and report to the Bureau data on applications for credit for small businesses, including those that are owned by women or minorities. The proposal also addresses our approach to privacy interests and the publication of section 1071 data; shielding certain demographic data from underwriters and other persons; recordkeeping requirements; enforcement provisions; and the proposed rule’s effective and compliance dates.
We released a table of contents for this notice as well as a summary of the proposed rule and chart of proposed data points to assist the public in reviewing the Bureau’s proposal. We also released a document describing our methodology for estimating how many banks would be required to report under the proposed rule and for producing market-level estimates of associated costs.
Comments will be due 90 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
SBREFA Outline of proposals and Panel report
Under the process established by Congress in the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), we are required to consult with representatives of small entities likely to be affected directly by the regulations we are considering proposing and to obtain feedback on the likely impacts the rules we are considering would have on small entities.
On September 15, 2020, we released an Outline of Proposals Under Consideration and Alternatives Considered, which describes proposals that we are considering to implement section 1071 along with the relevant law, the regulatory process, and an economic analysis of the potential impacts of the proposals on directly affected small entities.
Outline of Proposals Under Consideration and Alternatives Considered
High-Level Summary of Outline of Proposals Under Consideration for SBREFA
Discussion Guide for Small Entity Representatives
On October 15, 2020, the Bureau convened a Small Business Review Panel for its section 1071 rulemaking. The panel is comprised of a representative from the Bureau, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, and a representative from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget. The panel collects advice and recommendations from representatives of small entities that are likely to be subject to the regulation that the Bureau is considering proposing.
On December 15, 2020, we released the Final Report of the Small Business Review Panel on the CFPB’s Proposals Under Consideration for the Small Business Lending Data Collection Rulemaking. This report includes a summary of the feedback received from small entity representatives during the panel process, and findings and recommendations made by the panel.