As a reminder to everyone who helps Visio originate and service loans, it is important to make sure that you follow all federal and state regulations. One regulation to be aware of is the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). ECOA is a federal law that requires extended credit to be made equally available without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status or receipt of income from public assistance programs. Let’s take a deeper look at the types of discriminatory lending practices prohibited by ECOA and what is permissible under ECOA.
ECOA prohibits two types of discriminatory lending practices:
Under ECOA, you cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or receipt of income from public assistance programs. A creditor may:
Although ECOA ensures that no member of those protected classes will be discriminated against, it does not mean that all consumers who apply for a loan will be approved for one. Under ECOA, loan approval must simply depend on fair measurements of creditworthiness and other legitimate factors. For more information on ECOA, check out these websites:
For additional resources, visit our Resources Page. Want to broker loans to Visio? Join our Broker Program.
Related: Understanding Prepayment Penalties, Understanding Series LLCs