In March 2023 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized rules to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This will bring much needed transparency to how lenders are serving businesses owned by people of color, women and the LGBTQI+ community. This is an important milestone towards eliminating discrimination in small business lending. It is fitting that CFPB Director Rohit Chopra announced it to a packed room of economic justice advocates duringthe National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) annual Just Economy Conference. The many NCRC members who shaped the final rule through submitted comments, lawsuits and conversations with elected officials should be proud.

Implementation of the 1071 rule is likely to result in increased lending to underserved businesses as lenders will now have to annually report on their lending broken down by race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation of the business owners.