The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today launched a dedicated regulatory and technical support program to help financial institutions comply with its final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires the collection and reporting of credit application data for small businesses. SBLHelp will provide oral and written assistance to financial institutions regarding their data collection and reporting obligations under the rule, the agency said.
Under the final rule, a covered financial institution is defined as a financial institution that originated at least 100 “covered credit transactions” for small businesses in each of the two preceding calendar years. In addition, a “small business” is defined as one with gross revenue of $5 million or less in the last fiscal year. Financial institutions can submit questions to SBLHelp through the CFPB website and expect an answer within 24 to 48 hours during normal business hours, although some answers may take longer, according to the agency.
The CFPB said it plans to publish additional resources to help financial institutions comply with the final rule. ABA has criticized the rule as unnecessarily far-reaching, noting that the cost of compliance will likely force some community banks to limit their small business loan programs.
