CFPB Reiterates ECOA Protections Apply To Post-Application Events

On May 9, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an advisory opinion in which it reiterated its position that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and its implementing Regulation B protect "applicants" throughout the lifecycle of an extension of credit, and not simply during the application stage. To support the need for its opinion, the CFPB cited the fact that some creditors have challenged the applicability of ECOA to post-application events such as account closure or adverse changes to terms, and that creditors were also declining to provide adverse action notices in such instances. In issuing the advisory opinion, the CFPB invoked its authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to issue "interpretive rules," which, significantly, are not subject to the notice-and-comment process of the Administrative Procedures Act and thus can be issued unilaterally by the agency.