On April 3, the CFPB
informed a Florida federal district court that it plans to
initiate new rulemaking to revise its small business lending data
collection
rule under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.The Bureau agreed
to stay the rule's compliance deadlines in response to ongoing
litigation brought by a trade group representing providers of
sales-based financing.
The 2023 rule, entitled Small Business Lending Under the Equal
Credit Opportunity Act, requires covered financial institutions to
collect and report data on small business loan applications
(previously discussed
here). It was designed to facilitate enforcement of fair
lending laws and improve public understanding of credit
availability in underserved communities. Although it was mandated
by the Dodd-Frank Act, the rule wasn't finalized until
2023.