Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

A federal law that requires lenders to make credit equally available without regard to the applicant’s race, color, reli-gion, national origin, age, sex, or marital status; the fact that all or part of the applicant’s income is derived from a public assistance program; or the fact that the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. It also requires various notices to consumers.