Report or Relax? The Finally Final 1071 Rule

It has been a long time coming, but the small-business lending data collection rule, or 1071 (the 2026 Final Rule), has finally been issued, and many community banks around the country are celebrating an escape from compliance.

Section 1071 of the Dodd Frank Act mandated the collection and reporting of small-business lending data under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B. In the years since the passing of the Dodd Frank Act, there have been related proposed rules, a previous final rule, many comments and letters of opposition, and even litigation.

What are banks to do now that there is finally a final rule?

Step One: Determine whether your bank will be a reporter. The earlier final rule did away with the previous tiered approach to determining eligibility and compliance dates. The 2026 Final Rule applies to financial institutions that originated at least 1,000 covered transactions for small businesses within each of the previous two calendar years. Covered