CFPB Extends Deadline to Submit Comments on the Small Business Lending Market

On May 15, 2017, the CFPB published a request for information regarding the small business lending market (“RFI”) and required comments to be submitted on or before July 14, 2017.  However, on July 12, 2017, based on a letter that the CFPB received from 13 trade associations requesting an extension to the comment period on the RFI, the CFPB extended the deadline to submit comments by 60-days.

Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) by requiring institutions to report information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.  As stated in section 1071, the purpose of collecting this information is to “facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws” and to “enable communities, governmental entities, and creditors to identify business and community development needs and opportunities of women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.”

The CFPB believes the extension will allow stakeholders the opportunity to provide more robust responses that will further develop the CFPB’s understanding of the small business lending market and support its rulemaking process to implement section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

A copy of the CFPB’s notice of extension of comment period can be found at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-07-12/pdf/2017-14599.pdf.