HR 941 — Small LENDER Act

changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

 EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT

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TITLE VII--EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY

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SEC. 704B. SMALL BUSINESS LOAN DATA COLLECTION.

 (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to facilitate 
enforcement of fair lending laws and enable communities, 
governmental entities, and creditors to identify business and 
community development needs and opportunities of women-owned, 
minority-owned, and small businesses.
 (b) Information Gathering.--Subject to the requirements of 
this section, in the case of any application to a financial 
institution for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, or 
small business, the financial institution shall--
 (1) inquire whether the business is a women-owned, 
 minority-owned, or small business, without regard to 
 whether such application is received in person, by 
 mail, by telephone, by electronic mail or other form of 
 electronic transmission, or by any other means, and 
 whether or not such application is in response to a 
 solicitation by the financial institution; and
 (2) maintain a record of the responses to such 
 inquiry, separate from the application and accompanying 
 information.
 (c) Right To Refuse.--
 (1) In general.--Any applicant for credit may refuse 
 to provide any information requested pursuant to 
 subsection (b) in connection with any application for 
 credit[.] , and the financial institution may, when 
 requesting such information, inform the applicant in 
 writing that--
 (A) the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
 Protection requires the financial institution 
 to ask, collect, and report such information to 
 the Federal Government annually pursuant to 
 this section;
 (B) the applicant is not required to provide 
 such information; and
 (C) the applicant's response will not affect 
 the financial institution's evaluation of the 
 request for credit.
 (2) Model form.--The Director of the Bureau of 
 Consumer Financial Protection shall establish a model 
 form to be used in providing the information required 
 to be provided to an applicant under paragraph (1). 
 Such form shall--
 (A) be in plain English; and
 (B) to the extent practicable, be no longer 
 than a single page.
 [(d) No Access by Underwriters.--
 [(1) Limitation.--Where feasible, no loan underwriter 
 or other officer or employee of a financial 
 institution, or any affiliate of a financial 
 institution, involved in making any determination 
 concerning an application for credit shall have access 
 to any information provided by the applicant pursuant 
 to a request under subsection (b) in connection with 
 such application.
 [(2) Limited access.--If a financial institution 
 determines that a loan underwriter or other officer or 
 employee of a financial institution, or any affiliate 
 of a financial institution, involved in making any 
 determination concerning an application for credit 
 should have access to any information provided by the 
 applicant pursuant to a request under subsection (b), 
 the financial institution shall provide notice to the 
 applicant of the access of the underwriter to such 
 information, along with notice that the financial 
 institution may not discriminate on the basis of such 
 information.]
 [(e)] (d) Form and Manner of Information.--
 (1) In general.--Each financial institution shall 
 compile and maintain, in accordance with regulations of 
 the Bureau, a record of the information provided by any 
 loan applicant pursuant to a request under subsection 
 (b).
 (2) Itemization.--Information compiled and maintained 
 under paragraph (1) shall be itemized in order to 
 clearly and conspicuously disclose--
 (A) the number of the application and the 
 date on which the application was received;
 (B) the type and purpose of the loan or other 
 credit being applied for;
 [(C) the amount of the credit or credit limit 
 applied for, and the amount of the credit 
 transaction or the credit limit approved for 
 such applicant;]
 [(D)] (C) the type of action taken with 
 respect to such application, and the date of 
 such action;
 [(E)] (D) the census tract in which is 
 located the principal place of business of the 
 women-owned, minority-owned, or small business 
 loan applicant; and
 [(F)] (E) the gross annual revenue of the 
 business in the last fiscal year of the women-
 owned, minority-owned, or small business loan 
 applicant preceding the date of the 
 application[;].
 [(G) the race, sex, and ethnicity of the 
 principal owners of the business; and
 [(H) any additional data that the Bureau 
 determines would aid in fulfilling the purposes 
 of this section.]
 (3) No personally identifiable information.--In 
 compiling and maintaining any record of information 
 under this section, a financial institution may not 
 include in such record the name, specific address 
 (other than the census tract required under [paragraph 
 (1)(E)] paragraph (1)(D)), telephone number, electronic 
 mail address, or any other personally identifiable 
 information concerning any individual who is, or is 
 connected with, the women-owned, minority-owned, or 
 small business loan applicant.
 (4) Discretion to delete or modify publicly available 
 data.--The Bureau may, at its discretion, delete or 
 modify data collected under this section which is or 
 will be available to the public, if the Bureau 
 determines that the deletion or modification of the 
 data would advance a privacy interest.
 (5) Prohibition on information not reported by an 
 applicant.--A financial institution may not compile and 
 maintain information described under subsection (b) 
 that was determined by the financial institution using 
 visual observation or any other manner other than being 
 provided by an applicant.
 [(f)] (e) Availability of Information.--
 (1) Submission to bureau.--The data required to be 
 compiled and maintained under this section by any 
 financial institution shall be submitted annually to 
 the Bureau.
 (2) Availability of information.--Information 
 compiled and maintained under this section shall be--
 (A) retained for not less than 3 years after 
 the date of preparation;
 (B) made available to any member of the 
 public, upon request, in the form required 
 under regulations prescribed by the Bureau;
 (C) annually made available to the public 
 generally by the Bureau, in such form and in 
 such manner as is determined by the Bureau, by 
 regulation.
 (3) Compilation of aggregate data.--The Bureau may, 
 at its discretion--
 (A) compile and aggregate data collected 
 under this section for its own use; and
 (B) make public such compilations of 
 aggregate data.
 [(g)] (f) Bureau Action.--
 (1) In general.--The Bureau shall prescribe such 
 rules and issue such guidance as may be necessary to 
 carry out, enforce, and compile data pursuant to this 
 section.
 (2) Exceptions.--The Bureau, by rule or order, may 
 adopt exceptions to any requirement of this section and 
 may, conditionally or unconditionally, exempt any 
 financial institution or class of financial 
 institutions from the requirements of this section, as 
 the Bureau deems necessary or appropriate to carry out 
 the purposes of this section.
 (3) Guidance.--The Bureau shall issue guidance 
 designed to facilitate compliance with the requirements 
 of this section, including assisting financial 
 institutions in working with applicants to determine 
 whether the applicants are women-owned, minority-owned, 
 or small businesses for purposes of this section.
 (4) Initial compliance date.--
 (A) In general.--The Bureau may not require a 
 financial institution to comply with this 
 section, or any rule issued under this section, 
 until June 1, 2031.
 (B) Safe harbor.--The Bureau may not enforce 
 compliance with the requirements of this 
 section during the 2-year period beginning on 
 the date described in subparagraph (A).
 (5) Exemption for small financial institutions.--A 
 financial institution is exempt from the requirements 
 of this section if the financial institution--
 (A) in each of the 2 previous calendar years, 
 originated less than 2,500 credit transactions 
 for small businesses; or
 (B) has less than $10,000,000,000 in assets.
 (6) Treatment of response rate.--The percentage of 
 applicants providing a financial institution with the 
 information described under subsection (b) may not be 
 used as a factor in determining whether a financial 
 institution is in compliance with the requirements 
 under this section.
 [(h)] (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply:
 (1) Financial institution.--The term ``financial 
 institution'' means any partnership, company, 
 corporation, association (incorporated or 
 unincorporated), trust, estate, cooperative 
 organization, or other entity that engages in any 
 financial activity.
 [(2) Small business.--The term ``small business'' has 
 the same meaning as the term ``small business concern'' 
 in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
 632).]
 (2) Small business.--The term ``small business'' 
 means any entity with gross annual revenues of 
 $1,000,000 or less in the most recently completed 
 fiscal year.
 (3) Small business loan.--The term ``small business 
 loan'' means a loan made to a small business.
 (4) Minority.--The term ``minority'' has the same 
 meaning as in section 1204(c)(3) of the Financial 
 Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 
 1989.
 (5) Minority-owned business.--The term ``minority-
 owned business'' means a business--
 (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or 
 control of which is held by 1 or more minority 
 individuals; and
 (B) more than 50 percent of the net profit or 
 loss of which accrues to 1 or more minority 
 individuals.
 (6) Women-owned business.--The term ``women-owned 
 business'' means a business--
 (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or 
 control of which is held by 1 or more women; 
 and
 (B) more than 50 percent of the net profit or 
 loss of which accrues to 1 or more women.

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