U.S. Mortgage Index

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Definition

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, or ECOA, is the federal law that makes credit discrimination illegal and holds lenders responsible if they break that law. It is a statute page, not the broader fair-lending label and not an adverse action notice.

In plain English

Federal law says a lender may not treat a credit applicant worse because of certain protected characteristics. That statute is the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Fair lending is the wider consumer label for this protection. An adverse action notice is one notice that can appear after a credit decision. This page is the statute.

Technical definition

CFPB’s consumer page states that ECOA makes credit discrimination illegal and that the Bureau is among the agencies that enforce it. Regulation B is technical context as the implementing regulation.

Why it matters

Mortgage research often cites ECOA when a credit decision or pricing pattern is in question. The statute is not a promise about any one file.

Sources reviewed

Important note

This page is a neutral statute definition. It is not legal advice and not a list of current enforcement tests.