CFPB and Justice Department Issue Joint Statement Cautioning that Financial Institutions May Not Use Immigration Status to Illegally Discriminate Against Credit Applicants

By: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Justice Department today issued a joint statement that reminds financial institutions that all credit applicants are protected from discrimination based on their national origin, race, and other characteristics covered by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, regardless of their immigration status. The CFPB and Justice Department are issuing this statement because consumers have reported being rejected for credit cards as well as for auto, student, personal, and equipment loans because of their immigration status, even when they have strong credit histories and ties to the United States and are otherwise qualified to receive the loans.

While the Equal Credit Opportunity Act allows a creditor to consider an applicant’s immigration status when necessary to ascertain the creditor’s rights regarding repayment, creditors should be aware that unnecessary or overbroad reliance on immigration status, including when that reliance is based on bias, may run afoul of the law.

“Fair access to credit is crucially important for building wealth and strengthening household financial stability,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB will not allow companies to use immigration status as an excuse for illegal discrimination.”

“Lenders should not deny people the opportunity to take out a loan to buy a home, build their businesses, or otherwise pursue their financial goals because of unlawful bias and without regard to their actual ability to repay,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This guidance reminds lenders that denying someone access to credit based solely on their actual or perceived immigrant status may violate federal law.”

Some financial institutions have maintained blanket policies denying credit to individuals based on their immigration status, regardless of their circumstances and demonstrated ability to repay, arguing that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the regulation that implements it protect them whenever they consider immigration status in making a credit decision. Others have incorrectly claimed that the Act shields lenders from liability under other federal and state civil rights laws that bar discrimination based on someone’s status as an immigrant or noncitizen.

The joint statement explains that while the Equal Credit Opportunity Act allows creditors to consider immigration status when necessary to ascertain the creditor’s rights regarding repayment, unnecessary or overbroad reliance on immigration status may violate the Act’s prohibition of discrimination based on national origin, race, or another prohibited basis. The joint statement also confirms that neither the Equal Credit Opportunity Act nor its regulations provide companies a safe harbor concerning other laws barring discrimination based on immigration status.

Read today’s joint statement.

Read the CFPB’s blog.

Consumers can submit complaints about financial products or services by visiting the CFPB’s website or calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372). More than 180 languages are available by phone.

Employees who believe their companies have violated federal consumer financial protection laws are encouraged to send information about what they know to whistleblower@cfpb.gov. To learn more about reporting potential industry misconduct, visit the CFPB’s website.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a 21st-century agency that helps consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. For more information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov.