On April 17, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) submitted a final rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) that would complete its overhaul of small-business lender data collection requirements originally issued during the Biden administration. The submission signals that the CFPB’s long-anticipated “reconsideration” of its Section 1071 rulemaking, a highly contested regulatory initiative in recent consumer finance history, may be days or weeks away from publication.
The original Section 1071 rule, finalized in 2023 pursuant to a Dodd-Frank Act mandate, required lenders to collect and report demographic data, pricing details, and other information on small-business credit applications. The requirements drew significant opposition from the lending industry and were quickly subsumed in legal challenges. After the Trump administration took office, the CFPB tabled the rule and, in November 2025, proposed sweeping changes that would reduce the volume of data lenders must report and narrow the scope of covered institutions. The final rule now under OIRA review would formalize those changes, though the precise contours of the finalized requirements remain unclear: the OIRA notice provided no detail on the rule’s substance, and the CFPB has not publicly commented on its contents.
Under President Trump’s executive directives, independent agencies like the CFPB must now submit major rulemakings to OIRA for pre-publication review, which is a departure from the traditional independence these regulators have enjoyed with previous administrations. While standing guidelines allow up to 120 days for such reviews, OIRA has processed recent financial agency rulemakings far more quickly, often within two to three weeks. The Section 1071 overhaul has been a centerpiece of the CFPB’s deregulatory agenda under Acting Director Russell Vought, who simultaneously leads the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the agency that houses OIRA. This rulemaking sits alongside other high-profile initiatives, including the rewriting of Biden-era open banking regulations, efforts to reduce the number of financial firms subject to CFPB supervision, and a proposed rule that could significantly curtail fair lending enforcement.
Small-business lenders and other industry participants should monitor this rule closely. If the final rule substantially scales back the original Section 1071 requirements, it could reduce compliance burdens for covered institutions, particularly smaller lenders that may have faced steep implementation costs. At the same time, the narrowing of data collection obligations may draw renewed legal challenges from consumer advocacy groups and could affect the availability of fair lending data that regulators and private litigants rely upon. Lenders should be prepared to assess the final rule promptly upon publication and evaluate how the revised requirements affect their compliance programs, data systems, and potential litigation exposure.