ELFA Provides Comments and Considerations to CFPB on Small Business Lending Data Collection Proposed Rulemaking
Last week, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA) submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on small business lending data collection under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. In its letter, ELFA outlined three targeted changes to the NPRM that, if adopted, would improve the rulemaking for both the equipment finance industry and U.S. small businesses.
First, ELFA urged the Bureau to exempt vendor dealer finance transactions and purchase money obligations (PMOs) from the rule’s requirements. The comment letter detailed the important role vendor dealer finance transactions play in the marketplace and explained how indirect communication through intermediaries would create significant complexity in the data collection process. If a full exemption is not feasible, ELFA proposed two alternative approaches: allowing data collection to occur at the first direct contact between the lender and the customer or establishing a unique customer identifier to better track applications and more accurately reflect the end-to-end application process.
Second, the letter expressed ELFA’s view that, similar to true leases and merchant cash advances (MCAs), PMOs do not operate like conventional credit products but instead function as secured transactions. ELFA therefore requested that PMOs be exempted from the rule and afforded parity with other transactions of a similar nature.
Third, ELFA recommended increasing the annual origination threshold for Section 1071 reporting from 1,000 to 2,500 transactions. ELFA noted that many equipment finance companies focus on small-ticket lending, resulting in high volumes of lower-dollar transactions. Raising the threshold would reduce unnecessary regulatory burden while still fulfilling the statutory goal of Section 1071 to monitor small business lending practices.
With the CFPB’s comment period on this NPRM closing today, ELFA looks forward to continued engagement with the Bureau as it finalizes the rule.
In Other News:
U.S. House of Representatives Passes NDAA without Right-to-Repair Provisions
On Wednesday, December 10th, U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) without the inclusion of right-to-repair provisions that had been under consideration earlier in the process. ELFA has actively engaged on this issue, working in close coordination with a coalition of trade associations, including the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), to advocate for the removal of these provisions from both the House and Senate NDAA packages. These efforts focused on highlighting potential unintended consequences for equipment finance companies, manufacturers, and their customers.
As the legislative process moves forward, attention now turns to the U.S. Senate as it begins consideration of its version of the NDAA. ELFA will continue to monitor developments closely and remains engaged with Senate offices and coalition partners to ensure industry perspectives are reflected as the bill advances through the conference process.
