Washington DC – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule extending the compliance deadline for the small business lending rule. After the CFPB issued its small business lending rule on March 30, 2023, a federal court in Texas put the rule on hold pending a Supreme Court decision. CFPB vs. CFSAThe Texas court also required the CFPB to extend the rule’s compliance deadline to make up for the delay. Today’s interim final rule complies with recent Supreme Court decisions. CFPB Vs. CFSA.
The interim final rule extends the compliance deadline by 290 days, the number of days that elapsed between the Texas court’s first stay of enforcement last year and the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision. CFPB vs. CFSA Under the rules released last month, lenders with the highest small business loan volume must begin collecting data by July 18, 2025, mid-volume lenders by January 16, 2026, and lowest-volume lenders by October 18, 2026. The deadline for reporting small business loan data to the CFPB remains June 1 of the year following the calendar year covered by the data collection. Thus, high-volume lenders would first submit data by June 1, 2026, and mid- and low-volume lenders would first submit data by June 1, 2027. Under the interim final rule, lenders can continue to use their 2022 and 2023 small business loan history to determine their initial compliance date, or they can use their 2023 and 2024 loan history.
Lenders may also begin data collection much earlier. The rule allows lenders to collect demographic data up to one year prior to the compliance date to test their procedures and systems. The CFPB also updated the grace period to reflect the revised date. The CFPB does not intend to impose penalties for reporting errors in the first 12 months of collection and will only conduct examinations to help lenders diagnose compliance weaknesses, so long as the lender is complying in good faith.
Resources to assist with implementing the Small Business Lending Rule can be found on the Small Business Lending Database webpage. The CFPB’s Small Business Lending Data Submission Platform will be available for open beta testing in August. Beta test participants who would like to receive general updates about the rule can sign up for updates on the Small Business Lending Database page and enter their email address in the email sign-up box.
Read today’s interim final rule.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a 21st century agency that implements and enforces federal consumer financial laws and ensures that the marketplace for consumer financial products is fair, transparent, and competitive. For more information, please visit: Consumer finance.
