The CFPB has filed its second status report with the California federal district court as required by the Stipulated Settlement Agreement in the lawsuit filed against the Bureau in May 2019 alleging wrongful delay in adopting regulations to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Section 1071 amended the ECOA to require financial institutions to collect and report certain data in connection with credit applications made by women- or minority-owned businesses and small businesses. Such data includes the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners of the business. The Stipulated Settlement Agreement, which the court approved in February 2020, established a timetable for the Bureau to engage in Section 1071 rulemaking and required the Bureau to provide status reports to the plaintiffs and the court every 90 days until a Section 1071 final rule is issued.
The first two deadlines in the Stipulated Settlement Agreement relate to the SBREFA process. The Agreement provides that the Bureau will release a SBREFA outline of proposals under consideration and alternatives considered by September 15, 2020, and will convene a SBREFA panel by October 15, 2020, or as soon as practicable thereafter if panel members are not available to convene.
The Bureau provided the following information in the status report:
- Bureau staff completed a draft of the SBREFA outline and provided the draft to the SBA and OIRA on August 11.
- The Bureau officially notified the SBA and OIRA on August 10 regarding the convening of a SBREFA panel and in that notice, identified potential candidates to serve as small entity representatives who will consult with the SBREFA panel. The Bureau will finalize the selection of small entity representatives after it consults with the SBA and OIRA.
- The Bureau believes it is on track to meet the first two deadlines in the Stipulated Settlement.
- Under its current plan, the Bureau would publicly release the SBREFA outline and related materials on September 15, convene the SBREFA panel on October 15, and hold meetings with the panel and small entity representatives during the week of October 19. Based on that timeline, the deadline for completion of the SBREFA panel’s report would be December 14, 2020.
