Wolters Kluwer regulatory expert Tim Burniston says that lenders must familiarize themselves with new small business lending requirements

Wolters Kluwer regulatory compliance experts are stressing the importance of advance preparation by small business lenders to gear up in implementing new data collection requirements from Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act that were finalized in March 2023. In a press release, Tim Burniston, Senior Advisor, Regulatory Strategy, Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, elaborated on how lenders will be affected by these new regulations, the timeline, and the importance of advance planning. His insights are part of a new thought piece published in the Commercial Edition of the Scotsman Guide.

Burniston noted that the new requirements are not just an exercise in data collection, but they are part of a final rule of Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act that are part of fair lending regulation

“The data is going to be used by regulators, examiners, advocacy groups, the media and plaintiff’s attorneys to look at patterns associated with access to credit and matters that may be indicative of potential redlining, underwriting issues and pricing issues,” said Burniston. “It would impact lenders in many significant ways.”

“First off,” Burniston noted, “this requires an institution that’s covered by the regulations to have comprehensive and documented procedures in place that are reasonably designed for the application process.”

Additionally, Burniston reminded lenders of the timeline for enforcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a tiered implementation schedule based on the number of small-business loan originations by a lender.

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