Washington, D.C. — The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Legal Defense Fund and National CAPACD — National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development submitted a comment letter yesterday to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The letter opposes the CFPB’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would delay and narrow the 2023 rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, designed to help detect discrimination and identify unmet credit needs in small business lending — especially among women and those from Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, Latino/Hispanic, Native American and other historically marginalized communities.

“Our coalition is deeply concerned that the Bureau’s proposed revisions would undermine Section 1071’s promise of bringing transparency to small-business lending. The 2023 final rule represented one of the most significant civil-rights advancements in business lending since the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA),” the groups stated in the comment letter.

The coalition also raised serious concerns about the NPRM’s proposals to:

  • dramatically increase the reporting threshold from 100 to 1,000 loans annually, which would exempt most lenders from Section 1071 reporting;
  • exclude merchant cash advances from coverage; and
  • eliminate reporting on pricing variables that are essential to understanding whether small businesses are receiving fair and sustainable credit.

The coalition urged the CFPB to withdraw the proposal and maintain a robust Section 1071 implementation that reflects Congress’s clear intent and the public’s need for meaningful lending transparency.

“Congress intended broad, functional coverage sufficient to reveal patterns and support enforcement. The NPRM would replace that mandate with a narrower, less informative regime,” the coalition wrote. “To improve capital access for minority-owned businesses, which will strengthen the nation’s economy, create jobs, and build a robust middle class, the Bureau should not proceed with the addressed changes.”

“Congress enacted Section 1071 to bring long-overdue transparency to a small business lending marketplace that has operated in the dark for far too long,” said Nadine Chabrier, senior litigation and policy counsel at CRL. “The CFPB should not narrow that mandate when it is contrary to the statutory intent and when doing so undermines consumer protection and civil rights."

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Press Contact: Vincenza Previte vincenza.previte@responsiblelending.org