Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

A federal (US) statute which prohibits creditors from requiring information concerning a spouse or former spouse of an applicant, except when: (1) the spouse will be permitted to use the account; (2) the spouse will be contractually liable on the account; (3) the applicant is relying at least partially on the spouse’s income as a basis for repayment of the credit requested; (4) the applicant resides in a community property state or is relying on property located in such a state as a basis for repayment of the credit requested; or (5) the applicant is relying at least partially on alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments from a spouse or former spouse as a basis for repayment of the credit requested. The most commonly known regulation interpreting ECOA is called Regulation B, sometimes called “Reg B.”