Community lenders may choose to stop serving small businesses rather than absorb the expense of collecting information on race and ethnicity under a proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the early stages of developing a rule that could give bank customers far more say in how their information is being accessed by fintechs and data aggregators. What the final rule looks like will depend on how much consumers already know about the way their data is collected, stored and sold.

The American Bankers Association urged the agency to maintain “an orderly, transparent policymaking process” after three Democratic directors had approved a board action without including Trump-appointed Chair Jelena McWilliams. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce went a step further, accusing them of trying to “circumnavigate” McWilliams’ authority.

In a letter to the agency’s new director, top Senate Democrats recommended policy steps intended to limit mistakes in consumers’ credit files that they said “can ruin lives.”

A report by the agency found that consumers in majority Black neighborhoods were more than twice as likely as those in white neighborhoods to lodge complaints with the credit bureaus over information in their files. Meanwhile, disputes were less common among older borrowers.

As the expiration of a national eviction moratorium puts economic pressure on low-income households, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is said to be considering investigating credit bureaus, debt collectors and large landlords accused of harming renters. But some argue the agency would be overreaching.

The agency’s enforcement action against a Virginia nonprofit is seen as reining in income-share agreements, which give students tuition in exchange for future wages and which critics complain have evaded scrutiny. Clearer regulatory guidance could solidify ISAs’ legal viability, proponents say.

The agency’s enforcement action against Better Future Forward says the nonprofit’s income-share agreements — an alternative education finance product — must follow the Truth in Lending Act just like other forms of student loans.

The agency proposed reporting standards for any institution that originates 25 or more small-business loans a year. The measure would be especially burdensome for very small lenders and could limit credit access in underserved communities, critics say.

Five years into scandals that have already cost Wells Fargo more than $5 billion in fines and legal settlements, regulators are privately signaling they’re still not satisfied with the bank’s progress in compensating victims and shoring up controls.