H.R. 941 · On the floor · Commerce

Small LENDER Act

Sponsor: J. French Hill (R-AR)

What it does

• Raises the reporting threshold for small business lending data from 100 to 500 annual credit transactions to qualify for CFPB Section 1071 reporting exemption.
• Narrows the definition of small business from $5 million to $1 million in gross annual revenue for purposes of CFPB lending data collection.
• Extends compliance deadline by three years from the final rule issuance date (May 31, 2023), pushing the deadline to May 31, 2026.
• Establishes a two-year safe harbor period (May 31, 2026 to May 31, 2028) during which non-compliant institutions face no penalties.

Official summary

Small Lenders Exempt from New Data and Excessive Reporting Act or the Small LENDER Act This bill modifies the requirements for financial institutions to report certain information about small business credit applications to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and extends the timeline for compliance with the CFPB rule with respect to such reporting (i.e., Section 1071 final rule ). (For background about the CFPB rule and subsequent litigation see CRS Report R47788 .) Under the bill, the reporting requirements apply only to financial institutions that originate at least 500 credit transactions to small businesses in each of the preceding two years. The bill further defines small businesses as those with gross annual revenue of $1 million or less. The rule currently establishes a phase-in period that ultimately requires institutions that originate over 100 credit transactions to small businesses to comply with the reporting requirements. The rule also defines small businesses as those with gross annual revenue of $5 million or less. Further, beginning on the date the final CFPB rule was issued (May 31, 2023), the bill provides three years for applicable financial…

Latest action

Jun 18, 2026: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 610.

Committee: House Financial Services