The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has launched a series of initiatives signaling that small business lending will be its next top priority. These initiatives will take the form of data gathering, including a Request for Information (RFI) from all interested stakeholders, targeted research and ECOA supervisory examinations. The CFPB has also indicated it will convene a panel under the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act (SBREFA) as a first step in the rulemaking. What does this mean for AFBA members and what should members do to prepare for this new regulatory environment? Our panel will discuss how the CFPB will use its authority to regulate the market and ways for the industry to participate in the SBREFA panel proceeding in order to improve and, if necessary, challenge the CFPB’s proposals, including engagement with the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Finally, there will be a discussion on the challenges of the OCC’s new fin-tech charter and increased concerns by states regarding usury rates that could have a significant impact on those entities that lend nationwide.