Small LENDER Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Small LENDER Act amends Equal Credit Opportunity Act section 704B, the small-business lending data collection provision added by Dodd-Frank. It gives financial institutions three years from the May 31, 2023, CFPB Regulation B final rule to comply. After that, it creates a two-year safe harbor during which covered institutions must comply but are not subject to penalties for failure to comply.
The bill also changes who is covered. A financial institution must have originated at least 500 small-business credit transactions in each of the previous two calendar years. It defines a small business as an entity with gross annual revenues of $1 million or less in the most recently completed fiscal year.
Who Benefits and How
Small lenders benefit from a higher 500-transaction coverage threshold and more time before penalties apply. Community banks benefit if fewer institutions are immediately subject to CFPB small-business lending data duties. Credit unions benefit from the same compliance delay and safe harbor if they fall near the threshold. CFPB-supervised lenders benefit from a staged implementation period. Small business loan applicants may benefit if lenders preserve lending capacity during implementation.
Who Bears the Burden and How
CFPB Regulation B staff must administer a delayed compliance schedule and penalty safe harbor. Fair-lending data users lose faster access to small-business loan application and pricing data from institutions below the revised threshold. Civil rights credit advocates face reduced near-term data for monitoring discrimination. Covered lenders must still build systems by the end of the safe-harbor period. Small business borrowers seeking transparency may see weaker reporting coverage.
Key Provisions
- Provides financial institutions three years to comply with CFPB's May 31, 2023 small-business lending data rule.
- Provides a two-year penalty safe harbor after the compliance period.
- Raises the covered financial-institution threshold to at least 500 small-business credit transactions in each of the prior two years.
- Defines small business as an entity with gross annual revenue of $1 million or less.
- Amends Equal Credit Opportunity Act section 704B definitions and compliance rules.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Delays CFPB's small-business lending data rule by giving financial institutions three years to comply and a two-year penalty safe harbor, while narrowing covered financial institutions to those with at least 500 small-business credit transactions in each of the prior two years and defining small businesses as firms with $1 million or less in annual revenue.
Key Policy Areas
Banking, Small Business Lending, CFPB, Fair Lending
Primary Purpose
Delays CFPB's small-business lending data rule by giving financial institutions three years to comply and a two-year penalty safe harbor, while narrowing covered financial institutions to those with at least 500 small-business credit transactions in each of the prior two years and defining small businesses as firms with $1 million or less in annual revenue.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Small lenders
- Community banks
- Credit unions
- CFPB-supervised lenders
- Small business loan applicants
Identified Costs
- CFPB Regulation B staff
- Fair-lending data users
- Civil rights credit advocates
- Covered lenders
- Small business borrowers seeking transparency
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedAdditional sponsors: Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mrs. Hinson, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 26 …
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Mr. Hill of Arkansas (for himself, Mr. Meuser, Mrs. Wagner, …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Community banks, Credit unions, Small lenders
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "cfpb"
- → Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology