Small lenders would get more time and a cushion before facing penalties under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small-business lending data-collection rule (the "Regulation B" rule finalized in 2023). Financial institutions would have three years from the rule's issuance to comply, followed by a two-year safe harbor during which they must comply but face no penalties for failing to. The bill also narrows who the rule covers: only institutions that made at least 500 small-business credit transactions in each of the prior two years would count, and "small business" would be defined as one with $1 million or less in gross annual revenue. The data collection is intended to help regulators spot discrimination in small-business lending.
Transparency & Accountability
- Lending data-collection compliance — Delayed three years, then a two-year penalty-free safe harbor added
- Covered-lender threshold — Raised to 500 small-business transactions, exempting smaller lenders from reporting
Congressional Summary
Small Lenders Exempt from New Data and Excessive Reporting Act or the Small LENDER ActThis bill modifies the requirements for financial institutions to report certain information about small business credit applications to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and extends the timeline for compliance with the CFPB rule with respect to such reporting (i.e., Section 1071 final rule). (For background about the CFPB rule and subsequent litigation see CRS Report R47788.)Under the bill, the reporting requirements apply only to financial institutions that originate at least 500 credit transactions to small businesses in each of the preceding two years. The bill further defines small businesses as those with gross annual revenue of $1 million or less.The rule currently establishes a phase-in period that ultimately requires institutions that originate over 100 credit transactions to small businesses to comply with the reporting requirements. The rule also defines small businesses as those with gross annual revenue of $5 million or less.Further, beginning on the date the final CFPB rule was issued (May 31, 2023), the bill provides three years for applicable financial institutions to comply with the rule followed by a two-year safe harbor period during which such institutions are not subject to any penalties for failure to comply with the rule.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-02-04
- Date Added
- 2026-05-14
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.