FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
CFPB publishes 1071 final rule with key community bank exemptions
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a final rule to implement Section 1071 small-business reporting requirements that includes strong community bank exemptions.
Aligning with repeated calls from industry advocates for policymakers to exempt community banks from the data collection requirements, the final rule:
- Exempts institutions that originate fewer than 1,000 covered small-business loans per year.
- Defines small businesses as those having gross annual revenues of $1 million or less.
- Exempts agricultural loans.
Section 1071 requires lenders to collect and report data on credit applicants, including the race, sex and ethnicity of the principal owners, as well as gross annual revenue.
The House Financial Services Committee this month advanced Chairman French Hill’s, R-Ark., Small LENDER Act (H.R. 941) to enact expanded community bank exemptions. Industry groups continue calling on Congress to advance the 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act (H.R. 976/S. 557), legislation advanced by the committee last year to repeal the statute that underlies the CFPB rule.
House passes Farm Bill
The House voted 224-200 in favor of its version of the Farm Bill, sending the legislation to the Senate.
CFPB finalizes streamlined small-business lending data rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized revisions to its small-business lending data rule to scale back the scope of data collection, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
Powell to remain on Fed board amid investigation uncertainty
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he will remain on the Fed board following the end of his term as chairman on May 15, pointing to remarks by Trump administration officials that a criminal investigation of the central bank may not be over.
Senate Banking Committee advances Warsh nomination
The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 along party lines to advance the nomination of Kevin Warsh to be chairman of the Federal Reserve.
OCC seeks comment on proposed DOGE regulatory rollbacks
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing to rescind regulatory language tied to diversity efforts and credit risk retention as part of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
OCC issues 2 interim final actions related to IFPA preemption
With a July 1 compliance deadline ahead, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirms that federal law preempts the industry-opposed Illinois law banning interchange fees in the state on the portion of a card transaction attributable to taxes and tips (the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act). According to the OCC, national banks and federal savings associations are neither subject to nor required to comply with this state law.