The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule to extend compliance deadlines for the small business lending rule. After the CFPB issued the small business lending rule on March 30, 2023, a federal court in Texas stayed the rule pending the Supreme Court’s decision in CFPB v. CFSA. The Texas court also required the CFPB to extend the rule’s compliance deadlines to compensate for the period stayed. The recent interim final rule follows the recent Supreme Court decision in CFPB v. CFSA.
The interim final rule extends compliance dates by 290 days, which is the time that has elapsed between the Texas court’s first issuance of a stay last year and the Supreme Court’s decision in CFPB v. CFSA last month. Lenders with the highest volume of small business loans must begin collecting data by July 18, 2025; moderate volume lenders by January 16, 2026; and the smallest volume lenders by October 18, 2026. The deadline for reporting small business lending data to the CFPB remains June 1 following the calendar year for which data are collected.
Thus, high volume lenders will first submit data by June 1, 2026, while moderate and low volume lenders will first submit data by June 1, 2027. Under the interim final rule, lenders may continue using their small business originations from 2022 and 2023 to determine their initial compliance date, or instead use their originations from 2023 and 2024.
Lenders may choose to start collecting data earlier. The rule permits lenders to collect demographic data up to one year before their compliance date to test their procedures and systems. The CFPB has also updated its grace period to reflect the revised dates.
The CFPB does not intend to assess penalties for reporting errors for the first 12 months of collection, and it intends to conduct examinations only to assist lenders in diagnosing compliance weaknesses, so long as lenders engage in good faith compliance efforts.
