H.R. 941 — what changed

Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691c–2) is amended—

added “(1) In general—Any applicant”

added “(A) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection requires the financial institution to ask, collect, and report such information to the Federal Government annually pursuant to this section;

added “(B) the applicant is not required to provide such information; and

added “(C) the applicant’s response will not affect the financial institution’s evaluation of the request for credit.

added “(2) Model form—The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall establish a model form to be used in providing the information required to be provided to an applicant under paragraph (1). Such form shall—

added “(A) be in plain English; and

added “(B) to the extent practicable, be no longer than a single page.”

removed “(4) Compliance with covered rule

removed “(A) In general—With respect to the covered rule, the Bureau shall provide a financial institution a 3-year period beginning on the date the covered rule was issued to comply with the rule.

removed “(B) Safe harbor—After the end of the 3-year period described under subparagraph (A), the Bureau shall provide a 2-year safe harbor to a financial institution during which the financial institution is required to comply with the covered rule but is not subject to any penalties for failure to comply with the covered rule.

removed “(C) Covered rule defined—In this paragraph, the term “covered rule” means the final rule of the Bureau titled “Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)” (88 Fed. Reg. 35150, published May 31, 2023).”

added “(5) Prohibition on information not reported by an applicant—A financial institution may not compile and maintain information described under subsection (b) that was determined by the financial institution using visual observation or any other manner other than being provided by an applicant.”

added “(4) Initial compliance date

added “(A) In general—The Bureau may not require a financial institution to comply with this section, or any rule issued under this section, until June 1, 2031.

added “(B) Safe harbor—The Bureau may not enforce compliance with the requirements of this section during the 2-year period beginning on the date described in subparagraph (A).

added “(5) Exemption for small financial institutions—A financial institution is exempt from the requirements of this section if the financial institution—

added “(A) in each of the 2 previous calendar years, originated less than 2,500 credit transactions for small businesses; or

added “(B) has less than $10,000,000,000 in assets.

added “(6) Treatment of response rate—The percentage of applicants providing a financial institution with the information described under subsection (b) may not be used as a factor in determining whether a financial institution is in compliance with the requirements under this section.”

removed “(1) Financial institution—The term financial institution means—

removed “(A) any partnership, company, corporation, association (incorporated or unincorporated), trust, estate, cooperative organization, or other entity that engages in any financial activity; and

removed “(B) in each of the previous 2 calendar years originated not less than 500 credit transactions for small businesses.”

“(2) Small business—The term small business means any entity with gross annual revenues of $1,000,000 or less in the most recently completed fiscal year.”