S. 557 — 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act

This section states congressional findings that section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (added by section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act), which requires financial institutions to collect and report data on small business loans, increases compliance costs, potentially reduces small business credit access, and disproportionately burdens smaller institutions such as community banks and credit unions; and that repealing these requirements will reduce regulatory barriers and support greater credit access for small businesses.

This section repeals Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691c-2), which requires financial institutions to collect, maintain, and report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau data on small business credit applications—including demographics of business owners—to identify potential discrimination in credit access. (As background, these requirements, added by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, apply to institutions originating 25 or more small business loans annually.) It also makes conforming amendments to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Dodd-Frank Act by striking related table-of-contents items and a cross-reference in ECOA Section 701(b).