CFPB CAN HELP IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS DISPARITIES IN SMALL BUSINESS LENDING
Los Angeles, CA May 9, 2017—Tomorrow, community leaders will attend and speak at a field hearing held by
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Los Angeles focused on small business lending. The
hearing is expected to address the 1071 data collection component of the the Dodd-Frank Act whereby lenders
will be required to collect and report demographic data about their small business loan applicants. An existing,
similar requirement for mortgage loans has helped lenders, regulators, policymakers and advocates identify and
address lending disparities in the mortgage market.
“The CFPB identified enforcement of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, especially for small business owners of
color and women, as one of their priorities for 2017,” explains Kevin Stein, deputy director at the California
Reinvestment Coalition. “Given recent research on small business lending disparities, we’re glad to see small
business owners have an ally in the CFPB and we look forward to tomorrow’s hearing.”
“The only data we have right now on the demographics of small business owners is from the Small Business
Administration- but that only covers about four percent of small business loans being made today,” explains
Michael Banner, president and CEO of Los Angeles Local Development Corporation.”That’s why the

CFPB implementing the small business data collection is so important- it will bring greater transparency- and
accountability into the small business lending space.”
“To succeed as small business lenders in Los Angeles, banks need to make a conscious decision to be a strong
community partner,” comments Elba Shildcrout, director of the Community Wealth Department at East LA
Community Corporation. “From our perspective, it means banks need to hire culturally and linguistically
competent loan officers, locate their bank branches in neighborhoods of color, and need to get to know the local
small businesses located in the bank’s footprint.”
“As a mission based lender, Opportunity Fund has seen hundreds of California businesses struggling under high
cost debt from alternative lenders. Our research uncovered small businesses saddled with loans carrying an
average APR of 94% and average payment nearly twice a business’s available cash flow. These loans are
unsustainable and unaffordable. We strongly support the CFPB’s efforts to collect national data on small
business finance to shed light on negative practices and better inform efforts to offer responsible financing
options,” comments Iosefa Alofaituli, Regional Director, Opportunity Fund.
“In the past several years, our loan officers have noticed a pattern of small business owners coming to us with
small business loans that are charging interest rates above 50%,” explains Robert Villarreal, Executive Vice
President at CDC Small Business Finance. “While we’ve been able to refinance many of these loans into
safer, more sustainable SBA loans with lower interest rates, we are deeply concerned about the spread of these
predatory loans.”
“Federal regulations like 1071 are the type of that progressive initiatives that help level the playing field for
small businesses, particularly those owned by women and people of color,” says Amanda Ballanytne, National
Director of Main Street Alliance. “When Main Street Alliance business owners talk about the type of
community and country they want to run their business in, a key criteria is access to capital at fair rates. CFPB is
a critical part of ensuring we’re creating an environment that supports small businesses.”
Hearing Details
The field hearing will take place on Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 11 a.m. PDT in Los Angeles, CA. The hearing
will feature remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray, as well as testimony from consumer groups, industry
representatives, and members of the public.