The CFPB has proposed to extend the compliance deadline of its Small Business Lending Rule implementing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which requires that certain financial institutions collect and report to the CFPB certain data regarding applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. The Bureau is extending the deadline primarily to better align the new compliance dates with current court-ordered stays delaying the rule and to provide time for the CFPB to “issue a new proposal to reconsider certain aspects of the 2023 final rule.”

The CFPB is proposing to remove its ability to use funds from its “Civil Penalty Fund” for consumer education and financial literacy programs. The Bureau had previously allocated approximately $29 million from the Civil Penalty Fund for these purposes.

The SEC withdrew 14 proposed rules, mostly from the Gensler administration. The rule withdrawals mean that investors will not receive material information about ESG investments, will not be protected against the risks of AI, and will be vulnerable to cybersecurity risks at their brokers and advisers.

Read Better Markets’ statement here.

Climate.gov, a key source of data and information about climate-related financial risks that threaten banks, will be shut down and its staff will be fired. The American people deserve—and the law requires—regulators to ensure banks identify and address all material risks, regardless of the source. Having accurate information about climate risks is vital to this work.

Shutting down NOAA’s Climate.gov will eliminate a necessary source of data that banks and regulators use to understand climate risk. This decision endangers lives and billions of dollars of property, which serves as collateral for loans.

The SEC extended the deadline for private funds like private equity and private credit to disclose basic information about their operations and strategies to the SEC.