WASHINGTON, DC – The American Bankers Association (ABA) has responded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposal to revise its small-business lending data collection rule. In a letter sent Friday, the ABA welcomed the revisions but pushed for further changes to reduce compliance costs.
The rule stems from Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act and requires financial institutions to collect and report lending data for small businesses. Although finalized in 2023, enforcement has been delayed due to ongoing lawsuits from the ABA and others.
ABA recommended several changes: reevaluating the economic impact analysis, exempting more small banks, narrowing the definition of small businesses to those earning $1 million or less, and limiting data collection to only the 13 fields Congress mandated.
The CFPB acknowledged earlier that banks would likely pass compliance costs on to borrowers, but critics say it has not adequately quantified those impacts.
(Source: American Bankers Association, July 2025)