Are Non Married Applicants Treated Differently Than Married Applicants

Client Question:My loan officer tells me that when he has a married couple apply for a loan, he has them fill out one application and runs one credit report. If he has a non-married couple that has everything commingled (and basically acts married), he treats them like a married couple.

But, if he has two applicants who are economically separate--for example, two brothers--then he has each one fill out individual 1003's and pulls a separate credit report for each, even though they are applying for one loan for one property.

Does this violate Regulation B?



Short answer, yes. The loan officer is treating non-married joint applicants differently than married applicants. Doesn't matter if their credit is "co-mingled" or not.

Also search the threads on joint credit reports. You will find some recent discussion where the FDIC is writing up banks for Reg B violations for pulling and charging two credit reports on non-married applicants vs pulling and charging a joint credit report for married applicants.