Equal Credit Opportunity — 1999-08-16 [99-20598]

The Board is issuing this proposal to revise Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA or Act), pursuant to the Board's policy of periodically reviewing its regulations. The Act makes it unlawful for creditors to discriminate against an applicant in any aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, sex, age, and other specified bases. Major proposed revisions include removing the general prohibition against noting information about applicant characteristics such as national origin or sex, although such information still generally may not be considered in extending credit; requiring creditors to retain records for certain prescreened credit solicitations; and extending the record retention period for most business credit applications.