CFPB Consumer
Laws and Regulations ECOA
CFPB June 2013 ECOA 2
For fair lending scoping and examination procedures, the CFPB is temporarily adopting the
FFIEC Interagency Fair Lending Examination Procedures that are referenced in the examination
program. However, in applying those procedures the CFPB takes into account that the Fair
Housing Act (FHAct), 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., unlike ECOA, is not a “Federal consumer
financial law” as defined by the Dodd-Frank Act for which the CFPB has supervisory authority.
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Applicability – 12 CFR 1002.2(e), 1002.2(f), 1002.2(j),
1002.2(l), 1002.2(m), and 1002.2(q)
Regulation B applies to all persons who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly participate
in the credit decision, including setting the terms of the credit. The term “creditor” includes a
creditor’s assignee, transferee, or subrogee who so participates. For purposes of discrimination or
discouragement, 12 CFR 1002.4(a) and (b), the term creditor also includes a person who, in the
ordinary course of business, regularly refers applicants or prospective applicants to creditors, or
selects or offers to select creditors to whom requests for credit may be made.
Regulation B’s prohibitions apply to every aspect of an applicant’s dealings with a creditor
regarding an application for credit or an existing extension of credit (including, but not limited
to: information requirements; investigation procedures; standards of creditworthiness; terms of
credit; furnishing of credit information; revocation, alteration, or termination of credit; and
collection procedures). The regulation defines “applicant” as any person who requests or who
has received an extension of credit from a creditor and includes any person who is or may
become contractually liable regarding an extension of credit. Under Regulation B, an
“application” means an oral or written request for an extension of credit made in accordance with
procedures used by a creditor for the type of credit requested. “Extension of credit” means “the
granting of credit in any form (including, but not limited to, credit granted in addition to any
existing credit [,] the refinancing or other renewal of credit...or the continuance of existing credit
without any special effort to collect at or after maturity).” Because the ECOA and Regulation B
prohibit discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction, a creditor violates the statute and
regulation when discriminating against borrowers on a prohibited basis in approving or denying
loan modifications. Moreover, as the definition of credit includes the right granted by a creditor
to an applicant to defer payment of a debt, a loan modification is itself an extension of credit and
subject to ECOA and Regulation B. Examples of loan modifications that are extensions of credit
include, but are not limited to, the right to defer payment of a debt by capitalizing accrued
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In addition to potential ECOA violations, an examiner may identify potential violations of the FHAct through the course of an
examination. The FHAct prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related
transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with
parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap
(disability). The CFPB cooperates with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to further the purposes
of the FHAct. If a potential FHAct violation is identified, the examiner must consult with Headquarters to determine whether a
referral to HUD or the U.S. Department of Justice and, if applicable, the creditor’s prudential regulator is appropriate.