Newsroom

The CFPB on Friday proposed amendments to make Equal Credit Opportunity Act regulations more flexible for mortgage lenders collecting lender ethnicity and race information.

The proposal will be open for public comment for 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The bureau said its amendments would provide lenders with greater clarity about their obligations while improving compliance and ensuring fair consumer treatment.

Regulation B implements the ECOA, which restricts lenders' ability to ask consumers about race, religion, nationality or sex except as it relates to the required collection of such information for some mortgage applications. The proposal would give lenders more flexibility in using consistent forms to request the information, including the revised Uniform Residential Loan Application.

The proposal also amends other parts of Reg B to facilitate compliance in the collection and retention of ethnicity and race information.