Press Releases

Luetkemeyer Discusses Damaging CFPB Small Business Data Collection in House Small Business Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) questioned witnesses in a House Small Business Committee hearing entitled, “The End of Relationship Banking? Examining The CFPB’s ‘Small Business Lending Data Collection’ Rule” about the harmful effects of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) data collection policies on our nation’s small businesses and lenders.

Click HERE to watch.

Rep. Luetkemeyer: The CFPB not only wants to collect a series of personal and detailed data from small businesses, but refuses to release which information they will publicize or share how they plan to make that determination. My bill, the Business Loan Privacy Act, would require the CFPB to do a separate notice and comment rulemaking to determine what information would be published by the Bureau. Mr. White, do you believe the CFPB should have a separate rulemaking for this, allowing small businesses and lenders to be part of the conversation?

Mr. White (witness): Absolutely… small businesses and community banks should have a voice in what data is made public.

Rep. Luetkemeyer: …[D]o you have concerns about that information being made public…?

Mr. White: We do. Small businesses prefer that their information remain confidential. And when our customers realize their data is being made public, it provides an incentive to go to a larger bank where their information can basically be hidden in the data…

Rep. Luetkemeyer: So what you’re saying is, instead of being able to do business with your local community bank, if you prefer not to have everybody in the community know what you’re doing and what your business is, you may go down to the road to a bigger bank…

Mr. White: That’s exactly right.

Background:
C
ongressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, Congressman French Hill, and Congressman Roger Williams recently introduced a three-bill package to protect American small businesses from costly and invasive data collection and compliance standards. Congressman Luetkemeyer’s bill, the Bank Loan Privacy Act would require the CFPB to do a separate notice-and-comment rulemaking to determine what information will be published by the Bureau.