1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act
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Would repeal the federal requirement — added by the Dodd-Frank Act's Section 1071 — that financial institutions collect and report data on small business loan applications, including applicants' race, sex, and ethnicity, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Supporters argue the rule burdens community banks and credit unions; critics contend the data is essential for identifying and correcting lending discrimination against minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would repeal Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691c-2), which currently requires financial institutions to collect and submit data on applications for women-owned, minority-owned, and small business loans. Institutions presently must report the number of applications received, the disposition of each, the loan type, the amount applied for, the amount approved, and each applicant's census tract, revenue, race, sex, and ethnicity. The bill would also make conforming amendments to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by striking Section 1071 and its table-of-contents entry, and would remove a related reference from Section 701(b) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
The bill would not alter other provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — including its core prohibition on credit discrimination — and would not create any new reporting obligation or replacement data-collection program. It would simply eliminate the existing collection and reporting mandate in its entirety.
Key provisions
- 1Would repeal Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691c-2), eliminating the small business loan data collection and reporting requirement entirely.
- 2Would strike Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and its table-of-contents entry as a conforming amendment.
- 3Would remove a related cross-reference in Section 701(b) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act as a conforming amendment.
Who would be affected
Financial institutions — particularly community banks and credit unions — that currently collect and report small business loan application data under Section 1071. Small businesses applying for credit, including women-owned and minority-owned enterprises whose applications would no longer be tracked by federal regulators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which currently receives and oversees the reported data, would lose that statutory authority and data stream.
Why it matters
Financial institutions subject to the current rule would no longer bear the compliance costs of collecting and reporting loan application data. At the same time, federal regulators and researchers would lose the primary dataset used to monitor whether lenders treat minority-owned, women-owned, and other small businesses equitably when making credit decisions — eliminating a key fair-lending oversight tool.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Repeals Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Section 704B (15 U.S.C. 1691c-2) (Sec. 3(a))
Eliminates the requirement for financial institutions to collect and report small business loan application data, including applicants' race, sex, and ethnicity.
Amends Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Section 1071 (Sec. 3(b)(1))
Strikes Section 1071 and its table-of-contents entry, removing the source provision that added the data collection requirement to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Amends Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Section 701(b) (Sec. 3(b)(2))
Removes paragraph (5), a cross-reference related to the now-repealed small business data collection provision.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates the bill would have no net effect on the federal deficit over the 2025–2035 period.
H.R. 976 would repeal the Section 1071 small business lending data-collection requirement under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) obligation to collect and process that data. CBO estimates the repeal would reduce the CFPB's administrative costs by $14 million over the 2026–2035 period, but that those savings would be fully offset by increased spending on the bureau's other required activities, since the CFPB is expected to spend up to its statutory funding cap regardless. As a result, CBO projects zero net effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit in any scoring window. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The repeal is largely self-executing: once enacted, the statutory obligation to collect and report data would cease to exist, and no agency rulemaking would be required to implement the change. Financial institutions would no longer need to maintain the data collection systems or file the required reports. The CFPB's existing regulations implementing Section 1071 would be rendered moot by the underlying statutory repeal. No replacement program, transition period, or phase-out is established in the bill.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 65.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill repeals the statute that requires financial institutions to collect data regarding applications for women-owned, minority-owned, or small business loans. Currently, financial institutions must collect and report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau information on (1) how many applications were received; (2) the disposition of each application; (3) the type of loan; (4) the amount applied for; (5) the amount approved; and (6) each applicant’s census tract, revenue, race, sex, and ethnicity.
Legislative subjects
Banking and financial institutions regulation; Consumer credit; Finance and Financial Sector; Small business
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-91