CFPB Addresses Lenders’ Worries in Business Loan Data Rule (2)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final rule on banks’ lending data reports, addressing industry concerns by easing the threshold for lenders that must submit small business loan demographic information.

Under the rule released Thursday, only those lenders that issue at least 100 small business loans each year must collect and report data about small business loan recipients’ race, ethnicity, gender, and other information.

The CFPB’s initial proposal—to apply the requirement to firms that make at least 25 loans a year—caused lenders’ outcry that the threshold was too low.

The rule, mandated by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, ...