Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released this statement following a federal judge’s ruling to reject a number of industry claims challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule to collect and publish small business lending data. The ruling reinforces the CFPB’s clear authority, provided pursuant to Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), to root out discrimination and promote access to affordable small business loans through transparency.

“I applaud the federal judge in Texas for ruling in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s clear and lawful ability to collect and report data on small business lending, which is a 2010 Dodd-Frank requirement that was championed by myself and the Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. After relentless attacks from our nation’s biggest banks and Republicans in Congress, the judge rejected a myriad of their baseless claims and ruled that the CFPB, under the leadership of Director Rohit Chopra, acted appropriately in promoting transparency and fair lending practices to protect the tens of thousands of minority-, women-, and LGBTQ+ owned small businesses who represent the backbone of our nation’s economy, but are disproportionately denied access to loans or subjected to steeper interest rates. The CFPB’s rule is a critical attempt to turn the tide on these disparities by enhancing transparency in a way that will promote competition and help small businesses, but there is more work to do.

“If my Republican colleagues care about supporting small businesses like they claim they do, I urge them to put an end to the attacks and advance legislation like my bill, the ‘Promoting and Advancing Communities of Color Through Inclusive Lending Act,’ which builds on bipartisan work during the pandemic to provide further support to community development financial institutions (CDFIs), minority depository institutions, and the small businesses they serve. My bill would, among other things, create a new grant program to support CDFIs that help young entrepreneurs get the capital they need to start a business of their own and thrive. So, I urge my Republican colleagues to work with Democrats to advance legislative measures like mine to ensure small businesses in rural, suburban, and urban communities can continue to contribute to our economy, helping all of our communities prosper.”

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