Key dimensions of the small business lending landscape
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require financial institutions to compile, maintain, and submit to the Bureau certain data on credit applications by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
The Bureau is in the early stages of considering how best to implement the Section 1071 mandate. As one step in this rulemaking process, the Bureau is learning about the small business lending market, including lending to women-owned and minority-owned small businesses. This paper reflects the initial findings of the Bureau’s research, providing a preliminary understanding of the small business lending environment, with a particular emphasis on lending to women-owned and minority-owned small businesses. The Bureau hopes to engage in a dialogue with stakeholders about the small business lending market and the issues that will need to be addressed as the Bureau moves forward to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
The Bureau held a field hearing on May 10, 2017 and subsequently released a Request for Information (RFI) regarding the small business lending market; in reviewing comments, we aim to augment the Bureau’s expertise in this space. We invite interested parties to either respond to this paper, or use this paper as a means to frame their responses to our small business lending RFI.