Industry Responds to CFPB Small Dollar Lending Rule

Dennis Shaul, CEO of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), today released the following statement regarding today’s release of the CFPB’s final rule on small-dollar lending:

“This federal small-dollar lending rule is a tremendous blow to the more than one million Americans who spoke out against it during last year’s comment period. Millions of American consumers use small-dollar loans to manage budget shortfalls or unexpected expenses. The CFPB’s misguided rule will only serve to cut off their access to vital credit when they need it the most. The rule is not only misguided, it’s hideously complex for loans of a few hundred dollars. The final rule is nearly 1,700 pages – more than 300 pages longer than the proposed rule.

There was an unprecedented outcry against this rule during the comment period – setting a record for a CFPB rulemaking and marking one of the largest of any federal agency. Yet, from the start, the CFPB’s small-dollar loan rule was crafted pursuant to a pre-determined ideological agenda that relied on biased data, anecdotes, and closed-door dealings with so-called consumer groups that have long sought to eliminate small-dollar lending.