Congress directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to collect lending data from financial institutions to ensure women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses, including small farms, have fair access to credit.
After years of delay, the agency finalized a rule in 2023. However, under the Trump-Vance administration, the CFPB has reversed course by unlawfully abandoning the implementation of the small business lending data collection rule.
In July 2025, a coalition of civil rights, small business, and economic justice advocates, including Rise Economy, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Main Street Alliance, and Iowa-based small business owner ReShonda Young, filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s refusal to enforce the rule.
Represented by Democracy Forward, the plaintiffs argue that the Trump-Vance administration is violating the Administrative Procedure Act in its effort to dismantle the final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, a critical measure requiring the CFPB to collect and publish small business lending data.
The coalition is asking the court to halt the administration’s unlawful actions and reinstate the lending transparency rule. Removing the transparency rule would mean small business owners like Ms. Young, who has repeatedly experienced discriminatory lending practices in her efforts to build community-focused businesses, are left without the data and protections they deserve.
Timeline
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Lawsuit was filed on behalf of civil rights, small business, and economic justice advocates.
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The coalition files a motion for partial summary judgment.
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The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denies the motion for partial summary judgment.
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The coalition files an amended complaint and amended motion for summary judgment, adding a challenge to the CFPB’s prior actions in delaying collection as well as claims based on a new final rule further delaying the collection of Section data.
