The purpose of this section is to facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws and enable communities, governmental entities, and creditors to identify business and community development needs and opportunities of women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
Subject to the requirements of this section, in the case of any application to a financial institution for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, or small business, the financial institution shall—
(1) inquire whether the business is a women-owned, minority-owned, or small business, without regard to whether such application is received in person, by mail, by telephone, by electronic mail or other form of electronic transmission, or by any other means, and whether or not such application is in response to a solicitation by the financial institution; and
(2) maintain a record of the responses to such inquiry, separate from the application and accompanying information.
Any applicant for credit may refuse to provide any information requested pursuant to subsection (b) in connection with any application for credit.
Where feasible, no loan underwriter or other officer or employee of a financial institution, or any affiliate of a financial institution, involved in making any determination concerning an application for credit shall have access to any information provided by the applicant pursuant to a request under subsection (b) in connection with such application.
If a financial institution determines that a loan underwriter or other officer or employee of a financial institution, or any affiliate of a financial institution, involved in making any determination concerning an application for credit should have access to any information provided by the applicant pursuant to a request under subsection (b), the financial institution shall provide notice to the applicant of the access of the underwriter to such information, along with notice that the financial institution may not discriminate on the basis of such information.
Each financial institution shall compile and maintain, in accordance with regulations of the Bureau, a record of the information provided by any loan applicant pursuant to a request under subsection (b).
Information compiled and maintained under paragraph (1) shall be itemized in order to clearly and conspicuously disclose—
(A) the number of the application and the date on which the application was received;
(B) the type and purpose of the loan or other credit being applied for;
(C) the amount of the credit or credit limit applied for, and the amount of the credit transaction or the credit limit approved for such applicant;
(D) the type of action taken with respect to such application, and the date of such action;
(E) the census tract in which is located the principal place of business of the women-owned, minority-owned, or small business loan applicant;
(F) the gross annual revenue of the business in the last fiscal year of the women-owned, minority-owned, or small business loan applicant preceding the date of the application;
(G) the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners of the business; and
(H) any additional data that the Bureau determines would aid in fulfilling the purposes of this section.
In compiling and maintaining any record of information under this section, a financial institution may not include in such record the name, specific address (other than the census tract required under paragraph (1)(E)),1 telephone number, electronic mail address, or any other personally identifiable information concerning any individual who is, or is connected with, the women-owned, minority-owned, or small business loan applicant.
The Bureau may, at its discretion, delete or modify data collected under this section which is or will be available to the public, if the Bureau determines that the deletion or modification of the data would advance a privacy interest.
The data required to be compiled and maintained under this section by any financial institution shall be submitted annually to the Bureau.
Information compiled and maintained under this section shall be—
(A) retained for not less than 3 years after the date of preparation;
(B) made available to any member of the public, upon request, in the form required under regulations prescribed by the Bureau;
(C) annually made available to the public generally by the Bureau, in such form and in such manner as is determined by the Bureau, by regulation.
The Bureau may, at its discretion—
(A) compile and aggregate data collected under this section for its own use; and
(B) make public such compilations of aggregate data.
The Bureau shall prescribe such rules and issue such guidance as may be necessary to carry out, enforce, and compile data pursuant to this section.
The Bureau, by rule or order, may adopt exceptions to any requirement of this section and may, conditionally or unconditionally, exempt any financial institution or class of financial institutions from the requirements of this section, as the Bureau deems necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.
The Bureau shall issue guidance designed to facilitate compliance with the requirements of this section, including assisting financial institutions in working with applicants to determine whether the applicants are women-owned, minority-owned, or small businesses for purposes of this section.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
The term "financial institution" means any partnership, company, corporation, association (incorporated or unincorporated), trust, estate, cooperative organization, or other entity that engages in any financial activity.
The term "small business" has the same meaning as the term "small business concern" in section 632 of this title.
The term "small business loan" means a loan made to a small business.
The term "minority" has the same meaning as in section 1204(c)(3) of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989.
The term "minority-owned business" means a business—
(A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or control of which is held by 1 or more minority individuals; and
(B) more than 50 percent of the net profit or loss of which accrues to 1 or more minority individuals.
The term "women-owned business" means a business—
(A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or control of which is held by 1 or more women; and
(B) more than 50 percent of the net profit or loss of which accrues to 1 or more women.
(Pub. L. 90–321, title VII, §704B, as added Pub. L. 111–203, title X, §1071(a), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2056.)
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Last modified: October 26, 2015