Small lenders would be exempt from business loan data rules

Lenders meeting either size test would be exempt from these data requirements. For these rules, a small business would mean an entity with gross annual revenue of $1 million or less in its most recently completed fiscal year. A lender would qualify by meeting either the asset test or the credit volume test. The credit volume test must be met in each of the two previous calendar years.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could not require compliance before June 1, 2031. The dates would apply to financial institutions covered by the small business loan data requirements. The restriction would cover both the law's requirements and rules issued under it. The two-year enforcement protection would begin on June 1, 2031.

Lenders could collect and keep the covered information only when applicants provide it. These limits would apply to applicant information covered by the small business loan data rules. Lenders could not use visual observation or another method to fill in information applicants did not provide.

Lenders could give applicants a written explanation when requesting the covered information. The bureau would have to create a plain-English model form, limited to one page when practical. The notice would explain that federal rules require lenders to request, collect, and report the information annually. It would also say applicants need not respond and their response will not affect the credit decision.