Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was enacted by Congress in 1974 to prohibit discrimination in lending. The ECOA makes it unlawful for a creditor to discriminate against an applicant based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status or age. It applies to all types of consumer lending, including credit cards, and is implemented by the Federal Reserve’s Regulation B. Among other things, that regulation requires that information on spousal authorized user accounts be reported to credit bureaus and considered when lenders evaluate credit history.