WASHINGTON—The CFPB has added 60 days to the comment period on its request for information regarding the small-business lending environment. The deadline is now Sept. 12.
CFPB Director Richard Cordray announced the extension during remarks at the bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board meeting, where he also talked about increasing transparency in the credit card market, researching the "credit invisible" and the upcoming rulemakings on first- and third-party debt collection. He confirmed there will be two separate debt collection rulemakings; the first-party proposal will deal with the issue of collecting the right amount from the right consumer, NAFCU reported.
NAFCU staff and representatives from several NAFCU member credit unions met with CFPB staff last month to discuss the Bureau's request for information and the potential impact on credit unions of a Dodd-Frank Act data collection requirement regarding women- or minority-owned small businesses.
The CFPB is currently requesting information on small-business lending in preparation for future rulemaking mandated by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The provision requires financial institutions to collect information – whether the business is a small business and women- or minority-owned – and report it to the CFPB using systems similar to those used to collect information under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule.
Also last month, NAFCU, with 12 other trade associations, asked the CFPB for a 60-day extension on this request for information. In a letter to the Bureau, the trades noted that this topic requires "broad consultation within individual companies, which requires a significant amount of time."