NCRC Applauds Letter From 84 Members of Congress Pressing CFPB on Small Business Lending Data

Washington, DC – Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) applauded a letter sent by 84 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Representatives Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging the agency to initiate rulemaking on the collection and release of small business loan data. Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 requires the CFPB to improve the quality and availability of small business lending data, in particular the race and gender of the owner of the small business, the revenue of the small business, and the action taken on the loan (approval/rejection). The CFPB has not yet taken action on the rulemaking.

“In 2010, wanting to ensure that small businesses have greater access to lending, Congress required banks to report small business lending by size of business and gender and race of the business owners,” said NCRC’s President and CEO John Taylor. “This will be of immense value to all small business owners frustrated in their efforts to expand and grow their businesses and create jobs. Unfortunately, the CFPB has yet to issue the guidelines to implement Congress’s requirement.”

“Small businesses are vital to the continued recovery of our economy as important engines of job creation and neighborhood prosperity. Owning a small business can be a path for building wealth and joining the middle class. The existing data is clear: it is very difficult for small businesses, including those owned by women and people of color, to get access to small business loans from banks. This rule will serve to help ensure that all small businesses have the same opportunity to get bank loans as large corporations.”

“The CFPB must act now to issue requirements for the collection and release of this data, which is essential to shine light on the small business lending activities of financial institutions. We thank the members of the Senate and House Financial Services Committee who have taken the lead in calling for action.”

The letter, with signatures, can be read here.

This letter follows two other similar letters sent to the CFPB earlier this year from 19 U.S. Senators and 13 Members of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, which NCRC also applauded. Senator Cory Booker led the letter from Members of the Senate. House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters led the letter from Committee Democrats. The letter from the House Financial Services Committee members was also sent to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, which shares some jurisdiction over the implementation. Twenty-one national small businesses, consumer and civil rights groups, and over 60 local organizations led by NCRC sent separate letters to members of the U.S. Senate asking them to sign on to Senator Cory Booker’s letter.

The letter from members of the House Financial Services Committee can be read here. It was signed by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Al Green (D-TX), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Juan Vargas (D-CA).

The letter from members of the Senate can be read here. It was signed by Senators Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Last year, NCRC released “Recommendations to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for Implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010,” a white paper presenting recommendations on the collection and public availability of small business loan data from financial institutions.

Also last year, NCRC released “Small Business Lending Deserts and Oases,” a breakthrough report on small business lending trends in the United States and disparities in access to credit for small businesses.

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About NCRC:

NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development.