The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
(“ECOA”) was enacted to ensure that credit is made available to all
creditworthy applicants without discrimination on the basis of sex,
marital status, race, color, religion, national origin, age, or
other prohibited bases under the ECOA. The ECOA allows for
creditors to collect information for self-testing against these
criteria, while not allowing creditors to use this information in
making credit decisions of applicants. For certain mortgage
applications, the ECOA requires creditors to ask for some of the
prohibited information for monitoring purposes. In addition, for
certain mortgage applications, creditors are required to send a
copy of any appraisal or written valuation used in the application
process to the applicant in a timely fashion. The ECOA also
prescribes that creditors inform applicants of decisions made on
credit applications. In particular, where creditors make adverse
actions on credit applications or existing accounts, creditors must
inform consumers as to why the adverse action was taken, such that
credit applicants can challenge errors or learn how to become more
creditworthy. Creditors must retain all application information for
25 months, including notices they sent and any information related
to adverse actions. Finally, the ECOA requires creditors who
furnish applicant information to a consumer reporting agency to
reflect participation of the applicant’s spouse, if the spouse if
permitted to use or contractually liable on the account.
PL:
Pub.L. 111 - 203 1376 Name of Law: Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act
US Code: 15
USC 1591 Name of Law: Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The new estimates calculated by
the Bureau reflect the decrease in number of mortgage loans
observed by the Bureau between spring 2016 and spring 2019. Fewer
loans lead to fewer disclosures, which reduces the absolute burden
associated with the ECOA and Regulation B. There have been no
programmatic or regulatory changes leading to the reduction in
burden. The Bureau previously accounted for the burden of all
respondents, rather than only its share of respondents. The
adjustments account for that share.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.