Washington, D.C. (Dec. 20, 2023) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today expressed opposition to President Joe Biden’s veto of a bipartisan resolution that would nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Section 1071 small-business data collection and reporting requirements. ICBA is calling on Congress to override the veto following the bipartisan passage of S.J.Res.32 in the House and Senate.
“ICBA and the nation’s community banks strongly support the bipartisan resolution to nullify the CFPB’s intrusive and overly burdensome data collection and reporting requirements, which would ultimately harm the women- and minority-owned small businesses the rule is designed to help,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said. “We call on Congress to override President Biden’s veto to avoid degrading the ability of community banks to meet the needs of small businesses while requiring financial institutions to burden their customers with invasive and personal questions the CFPB would then publicly report.”
The CFPB’s rule requires lenders to collect and report data on credit applicants, including the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners as well as gross annual revenue. While the CFPB has the authority to exempt any class of financial institutions from the standards it develops and to limit mandatory data points to those required by the law, it has opted to apply the rule to the vast majority of community banks and to require data points far exceeding those required by law.
Introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) alongside a separate House version from House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R-Texas), S.J.Res.32 would provide for congressional disapproval of the CFPB’s 1071 rule and dictate that it has no force or effect.
ICBA looks forward to working with Congress to override the president’s veto to ensure community banks can continue meeting the needs of the nation’s small businesses.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.
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