Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) (ECOA)

Prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program.

Prohibits creditors from discriminating against loan applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) is designed to ensure that all qualified people have access to credit.

It forbids lenders from rejecting credit applicants on the basis of race, gender, marital status, age, or national origin and requires lenders to consider public assistance in the same light as other forms of income.

The act says that creditors must approve or reject your application within 30 days if you've filed a complete application, and if you ask within 60 days, it must provide an explanation for turning you down. The ECOA requires creditors to provide specific reasons for rejecting you and forbids indefinite or vague explanations.

If you feel you're being discriminated against and the lender does not respond to your complaints, you can contact the attorney general of your state or the government agency that oversees the creditor. By law, the creditor must provide that information. If you can't get the information from the creditor, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.

A federal law that requires lenders to make credit equally available without regard to the applicant's race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or marital status; the fact that all or part of the applicant's income is derived from a public assistance program; or the fact that the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

A federal law requiring lenders to make credit available equally without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or receipt of income from public assistance programs.