The CFPB announced today that it will hold a symposium on Dodd-Frank Act Section 1071 on November 6, 2019.  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.  In its Spring 2019 rulemaking agenda, the CFPB indicated that it expected to resume Section 1071 pre-rulemaking activities in 2019.  The symposium presumably represents the resumption of such activities.

The event will feature remarks by Bureau Director Kathleen L. Kraninger and consist of two panels of experts. The first panel will focus on the current state of, and future outlook for, the small business lending marketplace.  The panel will be moderated by Grady Hedgespeth, Assistant Director in the Bureau’s Office of Small Business Lending Markets.  The panel members are:

  • Claire Kramer-Mills, Assistant Vice President and Director of Community Development Analysis, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  • David Burton, Senior Fellow in Economic Policy, Heritage Foundation
  • Luz Urrutia, CEO, Opportunity Fund and former Bureau Consumer Advisory Board Member
  • Glenn L. Christensen, Associate Professor, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
  • Noah Breslow, Chairman and CEO, On Deck Capital

The second panel will include a discussion regarding the implementation of Section 1071.  The panel will be moderated by Elena Babinecz, Managing Counsel in the Bureau’s Office of Regulations.  The panel members are:

  • Maureen Busch, Vice President, Compliance and CRA Officer, The Bank of Tampa and Bureau Community Bank Advisory Council Member
  • William H. Phelan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PayNet
  • Diego Zuluaga, Policy Analyst, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, CATO Institute
  • Richard H. Neiman, Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs, Lending Club
  • Brad Blower, Vice President, Consumer Practices, American Express
  • John Taylor, President and Founder, National Community Reinvestment Coalition

The symposium will be the third in a series announced earlier this year.  The first symposium was held on June 25 and covered the Dodd-Frank prohibition on abusive acts or practices.  The second symposium was held on September 19 covered behavioral law and economics.

A lawsuit was filed in May 2019 in a California federal district court by the California Reinvestment Coalition, the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, and two individual small business owners seeking a declaration that the CFPB’s failure to issue regulations implementing Section 1071 violates the Administrative Procedure Act and requiring the CFPB to promptly issue such regulations.  In its answer to the amended complaint, the CFPB asserted two affirmative defenses: the plaintiffs lack standing to bring the action and their APA claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitationsEarlier this month, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment and the case was assigned to a mediator.