On February 3, 2023, the Northern District of Illinois
(“the Court”) issued an important opinion in the matter
of Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection v.
Townstone Financial, Inc. and Barry Struner, No.
20-cv-4176, LEXIS 18405 (N.D. Ill., Feb. 3, 2023), addressing the
longstanding discrepancy between
the congressionally-approved
language of Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”)
section 1691(a), which provides that the ECOA applies only to
“applicants,” and
the agency promulgated
“Regulation B,” which seemingly expands the
ECOA’s reach to both “applicants” and
“prospective applicants,” ultimately resolving the
disparity by holding that the ECOA’s scope is limited only to
actual credit applicants.
The ECOA and…
