The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has extended the compliance dates for its small business lending rule (Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act), which amends Regulation B, due to ongoing litigation and court orders. This interim final rule revises the compliance and reporting timelines for covered financial institutions.
Revised Section 1071 Compliance Deadlines
Here is a table outlining the revised compliance dates, required data collection periods, and first filing deadlines:
|
Compliance Tier |
New Compliance Date |
Required Data Collection Period |
New First File Deadline |
|
Highest Volume Lenders (Tier 1) |
July 1, 2026 |
July 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026 |
June 1, 2027 |
|
Moderate Volume Lenders (Tier 2) |
January 1, 2027 |
January 1, 2027 – December 31, 2027 |
June 1, 2028 |
|
Smallest Volume Lenders (Tier 3) |
October 1, 2027 |
October 1, 2027 – December 31, 2027 |
June 1, 2028 |
Key Details:
- Determination of Compliance Tier: Financial institutions can determine their compliance tier by using their small business originations from either 2022 and 2023, or 2023 and 2024, or 2024 and 2025.
- Origination Thresholds for Each Tier: Once the reference years are selected, the number of covered credit transactions originated in both years determines the tier:
- Highest Volume Lenders (Tier 1): Institutions that originated at least 2,500 covered credit transactions in both of the chosen calendar years fall into Tier 1. Their new compliance date is July 1, 2026.
- Moderate Volume Lenders (Tier 2): Institutions not in Tier 1 that originated at least 500 covered credit transactions in both of the chosen calendar years fall into Tier 2. Their new compliance date is January 1, 2027.
- Smallest Volume Lenders (Tier 3): Institutions not in Tier 1 or Tier 2 that originated at least 100 covered credit transactions in both of the chosen calendar years fall into Tier 3. Their new compliance date is October 1, 2027.
- Voluntary Early Data Collection: Covered financial institutions are permitted to begin collecting protected demographic data required under the 2023 final rule 12 months before their new compliance date to test their procedures and systems.
- Tier 1 institutions may begin collecting protected demographic information on or after July 1, 2025.
- Tier 2 institutions may begin on or after January 1, 2026.
- Tier 3 institutions may begin on or after October 1, 2026.
- Anticipation of New Rulemaking: The CFPB has noted in the litigation that it "intends to initiate a new Section 1071 rulemaking and anticipates issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking as expeditiously as reasonably possible". This current interim final rule's extension is also intended to provide time for the CFPB "to issue a new proposal to reconsider certain aspects of the 2023 final rule".
